A Tragic Loss
by supernova8610
Summary: Harry is in his 6th year. There are strange occurrences, all involving a secret room hidden with Hogwarts. Join Harry in this deadly year, where mystery abounds and where adventure and danger are joined as one.
1. The Starting Feast

Before I begin, I'd just like to say that I might be changing the title. Then again, Im might not....but it all depends on where this story goes. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  
  
It was the beginning of their 6th year at Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the school were all watching the sorting.   
  
"I'm hungry...I wish the sorting would hurry up." complained Ron.   
  
"Me too--" Harry began, but then he stopped, for Professor McGonagall had called out the name "Mark Evans".   
  
Harry's mouth fell open in surprise.   
  
"Harry, are you ok? Hermione asked.   
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry said. "It's just that...Mark Evans...he lives near-" The sorting hat inturrupted Harry, for it had called out "GRYFFINDOR", Mark Evans joined the Gryffindor table, and sat down across from Harry. Mark's mouth opened in surprise.   
  
"Harry Potter? I thought....don't you go...."   
  
Harry smiled. "Everything you heard about me going to that Secure Center is a lie."   
  
"Uh...do you two know eachother?"   
  
"Yes. We live in the same neighborhood." Harry said. "Anyway," Harry turned to Mark, "your last name is Evans, huh? That was my mum's last name, you know."   
  
"What was her first name?" Mark asked, curious.   
  
"Her name was Lily Evans, but then she married my dad, and changed her name Lily Potter. But she and my dad are dead. They were killed by Voldemort." Harry finished quietly, sounding a little sad. He looked down at the table.   
  
"Her name was Lily? She was my aunt!"   
  
Harry looked up, extremeley shocked.  
  
"But you're a muggleborn?" Harry asked.   
  
"Yes, my dad ran away from home when he was 17."   
  
Harry wondered why Dumbledore hadn't told him this the previous year.   
  
"Aunt Petunia is sure going to love this." said Harry under his breath.  
  
When the last person had been sorted, Dumbledore stood up.  
  
"I have only two words: tuck in."  
  
Food appeared out of nowhere, and the students began piling their plates with food.  
  
"Tuck in?" asked Mark curiously, as he took a bite of mashed potatoes.  
  
"Ummleore's a il azy," said Ron through a mouthfull of food, which resulted in him getting hit by Hermione. "Ouch, Hermione, why'd you do that?" He said, swallowing. Harry smiled.  
  
Hermione ignored Ron. "Dumbledore isn't crazy, he's just a little-"  
  
"Eccentric," finished Harry  
  
"That's right," Hermione said, "but he's a very nice person."  
  
When the everyone had finished eating, and the food had disappeared from the plates, Dumbledore again stood up to say a few words to the students.  
  
"I have a few things to say to all," he said. "First, I would like to remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off limits to students." Harry could have sworn that Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in his direction, "Second, two new things have been added to the list of things forbidden in this castle: Exploding pepper-mints, and Canary Creams. For the full list of things, you can go the Filch's office, and look at it there. And finally, I would like to welcome back Professor Lupin, who has so kindly offered to take the Defense against the Dark Arts position!"  
  
At this, the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables exploded with cheers and people clapping; the Slytherins, however, remained silent, with gloomy expresions on their faces.  
  
"And now," said Dumbledore, "off to bed you go!"  
  
The students then got up, and started heading out of the Great Hall.  
  
"Hermione, don't you and Ron have to show the first years where to go?"  
  
"Yes," said Hermione, "Come on Ron."  
  
Ron got up reluctantly; Mark, however got up excitedly and stood next to Hermione and shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR FIRST YEARS OVER HERE!"  
  
Harry couldn't suppress a smile.  
  
"Thank you, Mark," said Ron,  
  
"No problem."  
  
"Well," Ron turned to Harry, "see you up in the dorm, mate."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Hermione and Ron led the first-year Gryffindors out of the Great hall, while Harry just sat there, watching the Great Hall empty. Eventualy, when the last student left the hall, Harry got up and headed toward the Gryffindor tower. When he got there, he headed up the stairs to the door that had last year read: Fifth Year Boys. This year, however, it read: Sixth Year Boys.   
  
Harry opened the door and walked in, and since Dean, Seamus, Neville and Ron were already asleep, Harry crept in quietly, and put his things away. After he had done that, Harry got into his pajammas, got into his bed, and fell asleep.  
  
Read&Review, my friends! :-) 


	2. Classes and a Cloaked Figure

Danny-DaWriter=Thanks for your review. I'm glad you like my story! :-)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
  
The next morning, Harry was awoken by Ron jumping on his bed.  
  
"Wake up, Harry! Let's go have breakfast!"  
  
Harry groaned, and pulled the covers further over his head.  
  
"Wake up, sleepy head," said Ron, as he pulled the covers off of Harry.  
  
Harry immediatley sat up. "What did you do that for?" He asked groggily.  
  
"To get you up," Ron said, "Hurry up and get dressed so we can meet Hermione down in the common room."  
  
Harry reluctantly got up and started to get dressed slowly.  
  
"C'mon, Harry, hurry!"  
  
"How can you have this much energy at-" Harry looked at his watch, "7:30 in the morning?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Harry finally finished getting dressed (with Ron telling him to hurry every few seconds) and he and Ron headed down stairs, where he noticed Hermione sitting in a chair, her back to the stairway on which Harry and Ron were standing.  
  
Ron held his finger to his lips, and Harry, taking the hint, kept quiet. Ron crept up to the chair that Hermione was sitting in, put his hands on the back of the chair, and said suddenly, "Good morning, Hermione!"  
  
Hermione jumped up from her seat and turned around. "Ron!" she said loudly, "Don't do that!"  
  
"Sorry, Hermione," said Ron, as Harry started sniggering. "Harry, what are you doing?"  
  
Harry immediatley stopped sniggering. "Nothing," he said. "Well, shall we go down to breakfast?"  
  
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione had reached the Great Hall, Harry looked up at the ceiling, which this morning was a dull, cloudy grey, with just a little touch of sunshine. He sighed.  
  
"Harry?" said Hermione, as they sat down and started putting food on their plates, "Is everything all right?"  
  
"Yeah," said Harry, who immediatley started eating his breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs in the shape of Dobby for some odd reason, and some toast.   
  
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were about half way through their breakfasts, when Professor McGonagall started handing out course scedueles to the students. When she had given Harry his course scheduele, she opened her mouth to say something.  
  
"Mr. Potter?"  
  
"Yes?" Harry answered.  
  
"I have some good news for you. You are again the seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team, and you are the captain."  
  
Ron and Harry dropped their forks and opened their mouths in surprise. Ron still had food in his mouth, so Hermione closed his mouth for him.  
  
"Really? I'm back on the team?" Harry said excitedly, "And I'm the captain?"  
  
"Yes, and I have already told the rest of the team this. I've already reserved a spot for you on the quidditch field tomorrow so you can hold tryouts for the Beaters, and the Chasers positons."  
  
"Ok, well, thank you," said Harry.  
  
"You're welcome, Mr. Potter," said Professor Mc Gonagall. She then left to hand out more course scedueles.  
  
"Did you hear that?" asked Harry disbelievingly.  
  
"Good for you, Harry!"  
  
"Yeah, good going, mate!" said Ron.  
  
Hermione was about to say something, but didn't, because the bell to signal classes just rang.  
  
"Harry Harry," said Ron, as he, Harry, and Hermione headed out of the Great Hall.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you have potions next?"  
  
Harry checked his scheduele. "Yeah," he said, "How about you Hermione?"  
  
"Yes, I do have potions next," she said.  
  
"Well, at least we're all in it together," said Ron gloomily.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed towards the Potions classroom, which was in the dungeons.   
  
Potions class was pretty bearable. All they were asked to brew was a simple potion that could change your voice. (Ron drank some of his potion, and turned his voice to that of Snapes' mom. "Clean your room!" he said, which resulted in 50 points getting taken away from Gryffindor)   
  
When the bell rang to signal the end of Potions, Harry, Ron and Hermione headed to Defense against the Dark Arts, which, unfortunatley for them, they had with the Slytherins.  
  
"We have to suffer enough in Potions, so why do they make us suffer even more by making us have another class with the Slytherins?" Ron said as he, Harry, and Hermione walked into the DADA class room.  
  
"That I do not know, Mr. Weasley."  
  
"Good morning, Professor," said Harry.  
  
"Good morning, Harry, Ron, Hermione," said Professor Lupin, and as Harry sat down in a desk next to Ron and Hermione.  
  
When Harry had sat down, the bell rang right as Malfoy walked in the class room, and as he walked by Ron, Harry, and Hermione, he said under his breath, "Good morning, Potter, Weasle, Mudblood."  
  
"DON'T CALL HER A MUDBLOOD!" Ron yelled, getting up out of his seat and pointing his wand at Malfoy. The class fell silent.  
  
"Ron, sit back down in your desk." said Professor Lupin, "And Mr. Malfoy, I advise you not to go calling people names like that. Ten points will be taken from Slytherin."  
  
"But Professor!" Malfoy complained.  
  
"Sit down in your seat, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Lupin. Malfoy reluctantly obeyed.  
  
"Now," said Professor Lupin, "welcome to Advanced Defense against the Dark Arts. First of all, we will be doing some reviewing of what you learned while you were here at Hogwarts, with the exception of last year. The first thing that we will be reviewing is how to handle a boggart." At this he smiled, and Harry know it was because of the time in third year when the boggart-Snape had been dressed up like Neville's grandmother. "You can put your books away," Malfow put his book away, "and come to the front of the classroom."  
  
When the class had come to the front of the room, Professor Lupin, with a wave of his wand, made all the desks, save for one, disappear. On the desk that didn't disappear, Professor Lupin put his briefcase on.  
  
"I have a boggart in here," he said, "and when I give the word, I will open this, and as I call your name, I want you to come forward, and take your turn at the boggart. Now, just in case if you don't remember, think of something that you most fear, then thing of that same thing, but only something that makes it less fearful. Now when the boggart turns into the thing that you are most afraid of, say 'riddikulus', and the thing that you are afraid should be made less fearful. Are you ready to begin?" Everyone said yes.   
  
Professor Lupin opened the briefcase, shouted for Ron to come forward, and stepped away. When Ron went up to the the boggart, it changed into a giant spider, and Harry was unpleasantly reminded of Aragog. Ron shouted 'riddikulus', and the spider lost all of its legs, and turned into a fluffy pink spider head.  
  
Professor Lupin called up another student, and another, until the only people who hadn't tackled the boggart were Malfoy and Harry.  
  
"All right, Mr. Malfoy, you go up," said Professor Lupin.  
  
Malfoy threw a dirty look at the Professor, and stepped up to the boggart, which changed into...a spider. Some of the Gryffindors laughed, but Professor Lupin told them to settle down. Malfoy pointed his wand at the spider, and it lost it's head and it's legs tumbled to the ground. Ron gave an involuntary shudder.  
  
Finally it was Harry's turn to go up. The boggart turned into a dementor as usual, and Harry felt the familiar cold sensation. Harry pointed his wand at the boggart-dementor, said 'riddikulus', and the boggart-dementor was suddenly dressed in a pink tu-tu, and it started tap dancing. The class exploded with laughter, and even Malfoy was laughing. The dementor finally disappeared because of the laughter with a pop, and Professor Lupin spoke up.  
  
"Very good, Harry," he said, "Class dismissed!" As the class was filing out, Professor Lupin restored the desks with a wave of his wand.  
  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed towards the Great Hall for lunch, and when they had reached the doors, Mark caught up with them.  
  
"Hey, Mark, what's up?" said Harry, as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. "How was your first day here?"  
  
"It was great!," Mark replied, piling as much food on his plate as Ron (which was quite a lot).  
  
"Which classes did you have?" Hermione asked  
  
"Herbology and Flying." Mark replied, and as he said this, Luna Lovegood joined the table.  
  
"Hello, everyone," she said dreamily, looking at Harry.  
  
"Hello Luna," said Harry, "This is Mark, by the way," he added.  
  
"Hi," said Mark.  
  
Luna grabbed a plate and put some food on it. "How was your summer, Harry?"  
  
Harry sighed. Where to begin? "It was ok," he said, "it could've have been better."  
  
"Are you still upset about Sirius?" she asked with concern.  
  
"Yes," Harry said quietly, then because he didn't want to talk about Sirius anymore, because it gave him too much pain, he asked Luna a question. "How was your summer?" he asked, "Did you find that crumple-horned snorkack?"  
  
"No. But we looked everywhere. Daddy was disappointed, but we're going to look for it again during Christmas break." Luna said.  
  
"Well, that's good," said Harry, but then he paused, because he saw a cloaked figure walk past the Great Hall. He was the only one that noticed this, and so he got up and headed out of the Hall.  
  
"Hey, Harry, where are going?" Ron and Luna said. Harry ignored them, but kept right on walking.  
  
When Harry had gone out of the hall, he again saw the cloaked figure at the top of the grand marble staircase, so he quickly ran up the stairs, and followed the cloaked figure down a hallway. Then the cloaked figure stopped. So did Harry.  
  
Harry saw the cloaked figure go through a tapestry that he had never before noticed until now, and when the cloaked figure had gone through, Harry went up to the tapestry, lifted it, and found himself in a dark, narrow stone hallway, with no windows, and no sign of the cloaked figure. Harry proceeded along the hallway, stopping every now and then to listen. He had a funny feeling that someone was following him.  
  
Harry shook of the feeling, and proceeded down the hallway. When he had reached the end of it, he saw a door. Harry had his hand on the door knob, and he was about to turn it, when all of a sudden he heard someone behind him. He was about to turn around, but didn't get the chance to because something hit him on the head, and he blacked out.  
  
Please read and review! :-) 


	3. Love and Quidditch Tryouts

O'Malley the Alley Cat= I'm glad you like my story so far! I like the penname, by the way. :-)  
  
Eirka Black410= I'm glad you really like this story. Out of the two that I've written, this one is my favorite. Virtual brownies to you!  
  
Danny-DaWriter= Thanks, I'm glad you like this story. Virtual brownies to you, too!  
  
:-)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
  
The next thing Harry knew was that he heard voices. He opened his eyes, and found himself in the hospital wing. Someone must have took off his glasses, because his vision was blurry.  
  
Harry saw that there were people looking down at him: a worried looking Dumbledore and Professor Lupin, a scared looking Ron, Hermione, who looked quite worried, and Luna, who looked concerned.  
  
Harry tried to sit up, but Dumbledore made him lie down again.  
  
"Wha- what happened?" Harry asked groggily.  
  
"I think, Harry," said Dumbledore, "That you know that better than us. You see, when your three friends here found you laying outside of the charms corridor, Miss Granger here immediatley ran for help, while Mr. Weasley and Miss Lovegood stayed by your side to make sure nothing else happened to you. The first people for Miss Granger to come upon were myself, and Professor Lupin. We immediatley brought you here, to the hospital wing. It appears that you had quite a knock on the head. Do you know who might have done it?"  
  
"No, I don't," said Harry.  
  
"Harry, tell us what happened after you left the Great Hall," said Hermione.  
  
"Well, I was sitting down at the Gryffindor table, talking to Luna, when I saw a cloaked figure walk past the doors of the Hall. I got up and immediatley left to find out who the cloaked figure was," said Harry, "when I reached the bottom of the marble staircase, I saw the cloaked figure at the top, and so I ran up the stairs. But by the time I got to the top of the stair case, the cloaked figure had turned down a hallway, and it stopped in front of a tapestry which I hadn't noticed before. The cloaked figure lifted up the tapestry, and went into some sort of secret passageway, and I followed, and found myself in a secret hallway. I walked along, and when I came to the end of the hallway, I found that I was in front of a door. I put my hand on the door knob, and I was about to turn it when I heard movement behind me, and something struck me in the back of my head, and then the next thing that I knew, I woke up here, in the hospital wing."  
  
There was slince after Harry had finished speaking, and finally Ron spoke up.  
  
"But," he said, "If you were in a secret passageway when you were knocked unconcious, how did you get to the Charms corridor?"  
  
"My guess," said Professor Dumbledore, "is that whoever knocked Harry out carried him to the Charms corridor so that Harry would be found immediatley."  
  
"But who was the cloaked figure, and what were they doing inside of Hogwarts?"  
  
"That I don't know, Remus," said Dumbledore. "But whatever the case may be, the students and staff will have to be more cautious."  
  
Again there was slience for a while. Finally Dumbledore got up.  
  
ÒWell, Harry, you may leave the hospital wing, but please be careful,Ó he said, and left, with Professor Lupin following him.  
  
Harry got up, and he, Ron, Hermione, and Luna left the hospital wing.   
  
When they had reached the marble stair case, Harry suggested going outside and going on a walk around the lake.   
  
"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry, but Hermione and I can't," Ron said, "I promised her I'd... go to the library...with her."  
  
Harry knew Ron was lying, but he ignored it. "How about you, Luna?" he said.  
  
"Yeah, all right," she said.  
  
So Hermione and Ron went to...the library, and Harry and Luna went outside to walk around the lake.  
  
"So, Harry," said Luna finally, as she and Harry were about a quarter of the way around the lake, "I'm really glad that you're ok after being knocked unconcious."  
  
"Yeah, me too." Harry said.  
  
After that there was kind of an awkward pause, during which harry and Luna walked up to some rock which they sat down on.  
  
"So, Luna, when you go looking for crumple-horned snorckacks this winter, I hope you find them," said Harry awkwardly. He didn't know why, but he felt kind of nervous and jittery, the same way he felt last year when he had liked Cho and whenever he was around her. Harry brushed the thought out of his mind.  
  
"Thanks," said Luna.  
  
There was yet again another awkward silence, during which time it began getting dark, and during which time he thought about Sirius and his dog-like bark when he laughed.  
  
"Harry, are you ok?" said Luna quietly,  
  
"What?" said Harry, who suddenly realized that he had been crying a little.  
  
"Why don't we walk around the rest of the lake, and you can tell me what's wrong, ok?"  
  
Harry nodded, and he and Luna got up and started walking. "Well," began Harry, "I suppose it's all about Sirius."  
  
"You miss him, don't you?"  
  
"Yeah," said Harry, "I do. I mean, I just can't get over the grief. Whenever I even think about him, I get sad."  
  
"I know how you feel," said Luna, "I remember when my mother died, It took me forever to get over it."  
  
"But you're over it now?"  
  
"Not completley. I still cry at night when I'm most lonley."  
  
"But your mother still lives on, only if it is just in memory."  
  
"That's right, just like your godfather lives on in your memory."  
  
"But I still miss him terribly." said Harry, as he and Luna reached the castle. "He was the closest person to a father I had, and now he's gone," ended Harry quietley. Suddenley he stopped, and hugged Luna. "You're a great comfort to me," he said. He pulled away, and he and Luna looked deep into eachothers eyes. Harry saw a mixture of emotions in Luna's eyes, and Luna saw sadness and grief in Harry's, but all that was forgotton as he pulled Luna into a kiss.  
  
Harry and Luna stood like that, in eachother's arms, and finally they pulled away. Harry saw that Luna was shivering a little, so he put his cloak on her.  
  
"It's getting a little chilly out here, what say we go inside and get some dinner, ok?" said Harry as he put his arm around Luna's shoulders, and like that the walk into Hogwart's.  
  
When Harry and Luna reached the Great Hall, Luna (who gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek) headed off towards the Ravenclaw table, but not before giving Harry his cloak back, and Harry headed towards the Gryffindor table to sit with Ron and Hermione.  
  
When he had sat down, he piled some food onto his plate, and started eating, but he noticed that Ron and Hermione kept on smiling at eachother. When they had don this for about the twenty-fifth time, Harry finally spoke up.  
  
"All right you two, what's going on?" Harry said.  
  
"What do you mean?" said Ron.  
  
"You think I don't notice that you two keep smiling at eachother?"  
  
At this Hermione hesitated and looked at Ron, who nodded his head.   
  
"Well, Harry, please don't be mad, but Ron and I...well...we're-"  
  
"Dating?" Harry finished the sentence for her.  
  
"How'd you know?"  
  
"I didn't. But I had a feeling that you were going to say that. How long have you two been...?"  
  
"Together? Just an hour, actually." said Hermione.  
  
"Are you mad?" Ron asked apprehensivley.  
  
"Of course not! I'm happy for you." Harry said.  
  
"Well that's good," said Hermione, "What about you and Luna?" Hermione smiled.  
  
"What about us?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, when Ron and I were walking to the Great Hall, we looked outside, because the doors were open, and we saw you kissing her." At this Ron smiled.  
  
"You saw us?"  
  
"Yeah, but it's ok, it's great that you've finally found someone."  
  
Harry took a swig of his Pumpking juice, and a bite of his roast chicken.  
  
"Hey, Harry," said Hermione suddenly, "The first Hogsmeade weekend is on the Saturday after next week."  
  
"Yeah?" Harry said, though he thought he knew where this was going.  
  
"So why don't you go over and ask Luna to go to Hogsmeade with you? We can all go together."  
  
"Yeah, go on and ask her, mate," said Ron, a smile creeping up onto his face.  
  
"All right," said Harry, getting up and going over to the Ravenclaw table so he could ask Luna out.  
  
Harry finally found Luna, and he came up to her.  
  
"Um...Luna?"  
  
Luna turned around, as well as a couple of the girls that Luna had been talking to.  
  
"Um...do you want to go Hogsmeade with me Saturday after next?"  
  
The two girls that Luna had been talking to burst into a fit of giggles. "I'd love too," she said, smiling.  
  
Harry smiled too. "Well, see you later," he said, walking away.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Saturday morning dawned, and Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team were out on the quidditch pitch with the potential Beaters and Chasers.  
  
There weren't very many people trying out for the available positions. Ginny had showed up to try out for one of the two available Chaser positions, as well as Neville and Colin Creevey. Dean, and Seamus had turned up to try out for the Beater positions.  
  
"Now, we'll go up three times, and play a quick twenty minute game each time we go up." Harry said, "Ginny and Neville, you two will go up with us the first time. Then Ginny, you and Colin will go up the second time, and the third time, Colin and Neville, you two will go up. Dean, you and Seamus will obviously go up each time. Let's begin."  
  
Harry thought that Ginny did pretty well as a Keeper. Colin also did pretty good, which was surprising to Harry. Neville however, didn't do as well, so that afternoon when Harry was choosing wich ones did best, he put down Colin and Ginny as the new Gryffindor Keepers. Dean and Seamus obviously got the Beater positions.   
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Later that eveing, Harry was to be found lying on his four-poster bed, thinking about Luna. Harry heard a door open.  
  
"Harry?" came Ron's voice, "Harry, are you in here?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm here," Harry replied  
  
Ron came over to Harry's bed and sat down on it.  
  
"Is anything the matter?" Ron asked.  
  
"No, nothing's the matter," Harry replied, "IÕm just thinking."  
  
"What about?"  
  
"Luna."  
  
"I thought so," said Ron, smiling. Harry threw his pillow at him. "Are you thinking about what you're going to do with Luna once you're in Hogsmeade?"  
  
"You read my mind."  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Well, what?" said Harry.  
  
"Once you get to Hogsmead, you could shop, or just walk around around for a while, and then you could go to the Three Broomsticks."  
  
"That's a good idea," said Harry, "Hey, why don't Luna and I meet you in the Three Broomsticks at...2:30?"  
  
"Sounds good to me, mate," Ron said. After a short pause he added, "You going to bed, mate?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty tired."  
  
"Well, good night," Ron said.  
  
"Night," said Harry, as Ron left the room.  
  
~*~  
  
Please Read & Review! 


	4. Troubling Conversations

Eirka Black410= Thanks for your review!  
  
O'Malley the Alley Cat= Yeah, I knew where you got your penname. I just wanted to say that I liked it. :-) And thanks for your review!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
  
~*~  
  
The first Hogsmeade weekend had finally arrived. Harry and Ron were in the sixth year boys' dorm getting ready, and Hermione was down in the common room waiting for them. Harry was going to meet Luna in the Entrance Hall, next to the hour-glasses that recorded the points that each house had (Gryffindor was currently in the lead).  
  
"Hey, Harry," said Ron, who was currently brushing his hair carefully.  
  
"Yeah?" replied Harry, who was splashing water on his face in order to help wake himself up a little.  
  
"Where did you say you were meeting Luna?"  
  
"I'm meeting her by the hour-glasses in the Entrance Hall." Harry started brushing his hair. "What are you and Hermione going to do once we all reach Hogsmeade?"  
  
"Oh, well, we were planning on going down to that coffee shop that you and Cho went to, Madame Puddifoots. After that we're probably just going to look around in some of the shops, maybe get some stuff from Honeyduke's, and then we're going to meet you and Luna at The Three Broomsticks."  
  
"Sounds like you two are going to have a good time," said Harry, who was getting some money out of his school trunk.  
  
Ron smiled, "So what are you and Luna going to do once you get to Hogsmeade?"  
  
"We're going to look around at the shops for a while, and then we're going to go to the Shrieking Shack." Harry said, as he and Ron headed towards the common room.  
  
"And then...?" Ron prompted.  
  
"And then," said Harry, drawing out the word 'then', "Luna and I are going to meet you and Hermione at The Three Broomsticks for Butterbeers and to talk about what we did."  
  
"And after that," came a female voice, "we're going to walk back to the school together."  
  
"Hermione, my love," said Ron, while Harry laughed, "how beautiful you look on this lovely autumn day!"  
  
"Thank you, Ron," said Hermione. Then she turned to Harry. "Come on, let's get down to the Entrance Hall so you can meet Luna."  
  
"All right, then," said Harry. "Let's get going."  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione reached the Entrance Hall, where Harry saw Luna standing next to the hour-glasses wait patiently for him.  
  
"See you later at The Three Broomsticks, mate," Ron said.  
  
"Yeah, later," said Harry.  
  
Ron and Hermione left for Hogsmeade holding hands, and Harry went over to Luna.  
  
"So, ready to get going?" Harry said.  
  
Luna gave Harry a kiss. "Yes, I am," she said.  
  
Harry and Luna headed out of the Entrance Hall, and they were on the road that led to Hogsmeade. When they got there, the first person they met up with was none other than Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, who were snacking on something as always.  
  
"Oo, Potty's found himself a new giiirrrlfriend," He said sneering.  
  
"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry, who then took out his wand and pointed it at him.  
  
"Oo, a wand," laughed Malfoy, while Crabbe and Goyle sniggered, "I'm so scared! Honest, I am! What are you going to do with it? Point it at me?"  
  
"No," said Harry calmly, while Luna watched from his side, "I'm going to do this with it." Harry put his wand away inside his robes, and he and Luna walked into Honeyduke's, where they spent about forty-five minutes looking at all the sweets (Harry bought Luna some chocolate).  
  
After Harry and Luna were done in Honeyduke's, they walked outside.  
  
"Hey Luna," said Harry, "How about if we go to the Shrieking Shack?"  
  
"All right," Luna replied.  
  
Luna and Harry were about half-way to the Shrieking Shack when she spoke up again.  
  
"Is it true you've been in the Shrieking Shack before? In your third year?" she asked.  
  
"How'd you find out about that?"  
  
"Ron told Ginny, and Ginny told me."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So," said Luna, "Is it true?"  
  
"Yes, it's true." Harry replied, pushing his first memories of meeting Sirius to the back of his mind.  
  
Harry and Luna were about halfway up the small hill that the Shrieking Shack was on when he noticed something, or someone in the front yard of the Shrieking Shack.  
  
"Look!" said Luna. She had noticed the something or someone also. "I wonder who that is?"  
  
"It...it's...no, it can't be him..."  
  
"What's the matter? Who is that person?" Luna said quickly.  
  
"It's...Peter Pettigrew!" Harry said, astonished.  
  
"How can it be Pettigrew? He's dead! But then, daddy did say that there were such things as zombies. Hey, maybe he's a zombie!" Luna whispered excitedly.  
  
"No," said Harry, also lowering his voice, "No, he's not a zombie. Peter Pettigrew, I'm afraid, has been alive since the day he was born."  
  
"Oh," said Luna.  
  
"Let's go see what he's up to."  
  
Harry and Luna walked silently up to the Shrieking Shack, stopping only for a second every now and then to make sure that no one else was around. When they were nearly to the Shrieking Shack, Pettigrew (who luckily didn't see Harry and Luna) opened the old front door and went inside. Harry and Luna followed close behind, making no noise.  
  
When they entered into the old, ruined house, they saw Pettigrew open yet another door, from which Harry and Luna could clearly hear about two voices, and go inside the room, and, as he did so, he closed the door behind him. Harry and Luna crept silently up to the door, where they could now clearly hear three voices, the third of which belonged to Pettigrew.  
  
"Here, here I am, master," said Pettigrew in a frightened voice.  
  
"What took you so long?" said the high cold voice that was Voldemort's. Harry's scar twinged a little with pain, and Luna shuddered.  
  
"I...I was keeping a lookout, master, to make sure that no one was coming here."  
  
"And was there anyone coming?" Voldemort asked dangerously.  
  
"N...no, master. I didn't see anyone coming." said Pettigrew.  
  
"Very well, Wormtail," replied Voldemort. "You can sit right here until you are of further value to me." Harry heard Pettigrew (Wormtail) sit down on what sounded like a sofa. "Come to think of it, Wormtail," said Voldemort. He had apparently found a use for him. "How does your business with the Potter boy go? Some people still refer to him as the boy who was my downfall..." here Voldemort broke of in a cold, cruel laugh that made the hairs on Harry's and Luna's necks stand on end.  
  
"Well, the business goes well enough, master," said Wormtail.  
  
"Has the Potter boy found out about the room yet?" asked Voldemort.  
  
"No, he hasn't," Wormtail replied, "He- he almost did, but I knocked him unconcious before he could find out about it."  
  
Harry let out an inaudible gasp. Peter Pettigrew had been the cloaked figure! Harry put his ear closer to the door in order to hear the conversation better.  
  
"Very good, Wormtail, it was well that you did that, for if Potter had found out about that room, there could have well been disasterous consequences for us. I want you to keep a closer lookout," said Voldemort.  
  
"Yes, master," replied Wormtail.   
  
Wormtail got up and headed towards the door that Harry and Luna were pressing their ears against. Quickly Harry realised that they would be in great danger if they were caught, so he grabbed hold of Luna's arm, and led her into the back room of the Shrieking Shack. Harry heard Wormtail open the from door and leave. He let out a sigh of relief, and he and Luna again went to the door through which they had been listening to the conversation, and again pressed their ears on it to see if they could hear what was being said in the room beyond.  
  
"Lucius, my most trusted servant, I have a very important job for you."  
  
"What would the job be, my lord?" came Lucius Malfoy's voice, quivering with anticipation. Harry felt a rush of hate towards this man.  
  
"There is another Evans at the school. He's apparently the nephew of the other Evans mudblood, Lily."  
  
"But...how can that be, my lord? I thought that Lily Potter only had a sister."  
  
"Apparently that's not the case," replied Voldemort, "You see, she had a brother also. He was a filthy muggle, and he ran away from his home when he was 17. He married, and had a son. Mark Evans." Here Voldemort laughed evilly.  
  
"What is it that you want me to do?" asked Lucius.  
  
"I want you to take two of your fellow Death Eaters, preferably Rookwood and Bellatrix Lestrange, and go to the Evans' household and kill them."  
  
"What about the boy, Mark?"  
  
"I'll figure out something." said Voldemort. "There's also the matter of Lily Potter's sister, Petunia and her family."  
  
"What do you want me to do with them?" asked Lucius.  
  
"Tell Petunia and her husband that her dear brother is dead. After that, you can..." here Voldemort drew out the word with relish, "dispose of them, if you wish."  
  
"What of their son? My sources tell me that he is at Smeltings."  
  
"Then after you dispose of the filthy muggles parents, take him captive. I really don't think that anyone will miss him, and if the Potter boy goes after him, we'll be ready."  
  
Harry felt sick. He couldn't take anymore of this. Quietly he motioned for Luna to follow him. They tip-toed silently out of the house, and when they were a safe distance away, Harry finally found his voice.  
  
"We have to tell Dumbledore this," said Harry urgently, quickening his pace.  
  
"What about Ron and Hermione?" Luna asked, jogging to keep up with Harry.  
  
"We go to The Three Broomsticks, fetch them, and then we all go back up to the castle to Dumbledore," said Harry. He immediately broke out in a run, with Luna following close behind.  
  
When Harry and Luna finally reached The Three Broomsticks, they were out of breath, and, still panting, they rushed inside.  
  
"Where were you?" said Ron, "You're fifteen minutes-" he suddenly caught a look at Harry face. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
  
"Has something happened?" asked Hermione, now concerned.  
  
"No...time...to talk..." Harry panted, "Hurry...we've got...to talk to...Dumbledore...immediately!" Harry finished urgently.  
  
Immediately Ron and Hermione jumped up from their seats, and at a run, followed Harry and Luna out of the bar. They ran through the villiage of Hogsmeade until they were nearly out of breath, but Harry kept on urging them on. It wasn't until they reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to DumbledoreÕs office when they finally stopped.  
  
"Chocolate Frogs!" Harry burst out. The stone gargoyle didnÕt move. "Sherbert Lemon! Cockroach Clusters!" Still the stone gargoyle didn't move, so Harry kicked it. "HELP ME!" Harry yelled. Immediately Hermione, Ron, and Luna started saying all the candy that they could think of.  
  
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!"   
  
"Gummy Bears!"  
  
"Tooth-Flossing Stringments!"  
  
"AARRGH!" Harry yelled again, kicking the wall next to the stone gargoyle in his frustration.  
  
"Harry, what's the matter?" Professor Lupin said. He had come to see Dumbledore about lesson plans for the seventh years.  
  
"We need to see Professor Dumbledore!" Harry said quickly, "It's urgent! If we don't see him, two families could end up dead!" Harry said, yelling as he finished.  
  
"The password is 'Canary Cream'," said Lupin, and as he said that, the stone gargoyle sprang to life, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Professor Lupin stepped onto the moving staircase.  
  
When they reached the door to Dumbledore's office, Harry didn't knock, but barged right on in. Dumbledore looked up from his desk and put down the book he had been reading.  
  
"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. Then he caught sight of the look Harry's face. "What's the matter?" he said urgently.  
  
Quickly Harry told Dumbledore about the conversation he and Luna had overheard.  
  
"And then," a scared Harry finished, "he's going to have some of his Death Eaters go over to Mark's house, and kill all of them, and after that, they're going to go over to the Dursley's, and kill my Aunt and Uncle, and then they're going to go to Smeltings and capture Dudley while hoping that I'll try to rescue him!" Harry took a few deep breaths and looked around the room. Ron was hugging Hermione, and they both looked scared. Professor Lupin, who had been standing a moment before, sat down in a nearby chair, and Luna went over to Harry and put her hand on his shoulder. "What can you do about it?" asked Harry.  
  
"We have to get them from their houses, of course," said Dumbledore. "Remus," Dumbledore looked at Lupin, who took his head out of his hands and looked at Dumbledore, "I want you to go get Professors McGonagall and Snape, and I want you all to go to the Dursley's and the Evans' and bring them here, for it is here that will be the only safe place for them."  
  
Immediately, Lupin got up from where he had been sitting and left Dumbledore's office to get Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. When he had left, Dumbledore turned to Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Luna.  
  
"I want all three of you to be careful." Dumbledore said. "I will inform Mark about the turn of events." He turned to Harry. "Should Professor Lupin, McGonagall, and Snape be too late...you, Harry, and Mark, will be living with me, here at Hogwarts." After a short pause, Dumbledore continued. "It is already dark. I advise you four to go down to dinner, and afterwards, return directly to your common rooms." And after a good-bye, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna left Dumbledore's office.  
  
~*~  
  
Please Read and Review! 


	5. Dangerous Dreams

O'Malley the Alley Cat= Thanks for your review!  
  
dreamcatcher386= Thanks for your review!  
  
To my readers: Just as a warning this chapter gets kinda sad near the end of it.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
  
~*~  
  
That night, Harry and Ron were to be found in the Gryffindor common room (Hermione was in her dorm, sleeping), playing a leisurely game of Wizard's chess. So far they had played 5 games (Ron had won all of them), and they were almost finished with the 6th game. At the moment, Harry's King was being chased around the chess board by Ron's Queen, Castle, and Knight, and, of course, his King.  
  
"Harry?" Ron said to his friend.  
  
"Hm?" replied Harry.  
  
"Are you feeling all right?" asked Ron, with concern.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry sighed.  
  
"I don't believe you," said Ron in a tone of voice Harry had never heard him use before. "You're playing worse than usual, and that's saying something, as you're not very good at this game. You're playing even worse than Hermione!"  
  
Harry sighed.  
  
"Are you worried about what will happen tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, you could say that," Harry replied. He moved his King further away from Ron's Queen, who was catching up alarmingly fast.  
  
"Harry, they'll be fine, I'm sure they will."  
  
"How do you know that?" asked Harry, who's voice was surprisingly bitter and angry. "Because Dumbledore says so?"  
  
Ron looked at Harry in surprise and shock. "Harry, mate, are you seriously ok?"  
  
Harry sighed again. "Yes, I'm ok, I already told you that. I'm just-"  
  
"Worried about tonight?" Ron finished for him.  
  
"Well, yeah," said Harry, "and not only that, I'm just scared that something bad might happen."  
  
"I'm sure it won't, Harry," said Ron. "Now," said Ron after a pause, "let's get this game finished so we can go to bed, or Hermione will have our heads. It's late enough as it is." Harry smiled.  
  
Ron finished up the game by losing spectacularly to Harry, who's King had snuck up unnoticed behind Ron's King, and beheaded him.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ok, we're here," whispered Snape. It was a dark, cold evening, and Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin were hiding under cover of darkness outside the Dursley household. A few lights were on inside the house.  
  
"Severus, why can't we just go up to the house and get them?" McGonagall whispered. "And why do we have to whisper?"  
  
"The answer to both of your questions, Minerva," Snape replied, "is Death Eaters. We certainly do not want them to catch us."  
  
Professor McGonagall fell silent as Snape checked to make sure that the coast was clear.  
  
"It's all right," he said, motioning for them to come forward. "Come on," Snape added, as the three walked up the driveway.  
  
When Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin reached the front door, Lupin gave it a hard knock. They all waited a while, but no one answered the door. Luping again knocked on the door, and rang the doorbell, but, like the previous time, nothing happened.  
  
"I don't like this, Severus," said Lupin worriedly.  
  
"I don't like this either," McGonagall said.  
  
Snape remained silent, and after a slight, tense pause, he rang the doorbell a few times, and knocked again on the door a couple times.  
  
"M-maybe they're asleep..." said McGonagall uncertainly.  
  
"No, I don't think so," replied Snape.  
  
"Then-what?"  
  
"If they were asleep, then they would have woken up at the racket we were making by ringing the doorbell," said Snape.  
  
"Well," said Lupin, "maybe we should go inside, and see if they're there."  
  
"All right," Snape replied, and he shoved himself into the door, and to his great surprise, it burst open, causing him to almost fall to the floor.   
  
Lupin's mouth dropped open in surprise. So did McGonagall's. Snape picked himself up from the floor and brushed himself off.  
  
"Severus, I don't like this. Severus, I don't like this at all. What if they're dead?" said McGonagall in a quiet voice.  
  
Snape ignored her.  
  
"Let's check around the house for them," he said. Lupin failed to point out that if the Dursley's were in the house they'd be asking what three wizards were doing in their house in the middle of the night. "Minerva," Snape continued, "you and Lupin search down here for them, and I'll go upstairs and look around."  
  
Quietly Snape ascended the staircase while McGonagall and Lupin went into the Dursley's living room. Snape reached the top of the staircase, and the instant he set his foot on the top stair, he heard McGonagall scream. Quickly Snape ran down the stairs and into the living room. He noticed Lupin looking in disbelief at the floor in front of him, mouth open in shock. McGonagall had turned away. Snape looked in Lupin's direction, and followed his eye line to the floor in front of him, and what he saw made him stop instantly in his tracks. Harry's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin were lying on the floor. They were dead. Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin were too late.  
  
Quickly Snape cast a spell over the Dursley's and sent them to the Ministry of Magic, with a note telling the reason the Dursley's were dead. He then went over to McGonagall and Lupin and hugged them, and when they all broke apart, Snape finally found his voice.  
  
"Quick, if the Dursley's are already dead, we must hurry and apparrate to where the Evans live. They could possibly still be alive, and if they are, we will most likely have to rescue them from the Death Eaters," he said. Then he, McGonagall, and Lupin apparrated to the Evans' house, not knowing the danger they were getting themselves into.  
  
~*~  
  
Lupin, Snape, and McGonagall reached the house where Evans' lived. The streetlights cast the road in an eerie orange glow. Not a light was on in any of the houses, and as Lupin, Snape, and McGonagall crept quietly towards the Evans' house, everything was silent. Lupin thought that this wasnÕt wasnÕt a good sign, and said so.  
  
"Severus," he said in a whisper, "are you sure we're not to late? I've got a bad feeling about this."  
  
"Shh...quiet," said Snape. He decided not to answer Lupin's question, as he had the same feeling.  
  
They walked up to the house, and when they reached the porch, a noise was heard from behind them. Snape, McGonagall, and Lupin all turned around instantly, but they saw nothing, so they continued on silently toward the front door.  
  
Lupin was about to ring the door bell, when all of a sudden there was a voice.  
  
"Do not turn around," said the harsh, female voice. "Go into the house, and if any of you makes a sound or tries to escape, I will personally have the great pleasure in torturing and killing you." The women opened the door with a spell, and Lupin, Snape, and McGonagall were pushed inside.  
  
Once they were through, and the door had been closed behind them, the lights were immediately turned on, revealing a fairly large entryway that glittered with light. The woman led them along a hallway and into a somewhat smaller room, where there were two other Death Eaters near to the side of the room, and in the middle of the room, there stood a man known by no other name than Lord Voldemort.  
  
"Ah...so you have come. To rescue the Evans' perhaps?" Voldemort said politely.  
  
"What have you done with them?" said Lupin, almost fiercely. He showed no trace of how scared he really was to meet the killer of two of his best friends.  
  
"So you have come to rescue them." Here the three Death Eaters laughed. It was almost unsettling. "Well, I am terribly sorry, but I am afraid that," here Voldemort broke into and evil grin, "you are too late."  
  
Professor McGonagall gasped. Professor Lupin kept looking at Voldemort, and a fury was in his eyes the like of which had never been there before. Snape was the only one who spoke.  
  
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM?" Snape bellowed.  
  
"Come and see."  
  
The three Death Eaters pushed Lupin, McGonagall, and Snape forward into a smaller room that was connected into the room that they were already in. Voldemort turned the light switch on, and Snape's, Lupin's, and McGonagall's eyes traveled to two people lying on the floor. The two people were Mark Evans' parents, and they were-  
  
"Dead!" Professor McGonagall said fearfully, putting her hand over her mouth. Snape just stood there with his mouth open in shock. Lupin, however, was looking furiously at Voldemort.  
  
"WHY?" He yelled, "WHY DID YOU KILL THEM?"  
  
Voldemort smiled evilly. "That," he said, "is an interesting story." He waved his wand, and three chairs appeared. "Please be seated, while I tell you." Lupin, McGonagall, and Snape sat down, and immediately Voldemort gave another wave of his wand, and the three Hogwarts Professors were bound to their chairs.  
  
"Where shall I begin?" Voldemort said. Snape struggled against the binding ropes. "Silence, you betrayer!" Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Snape. "CRUCIO!" Suddenly the room was filled with Snapes' screams. Lupin and McGonagall watched, horrified. Finally after about ten seconds, Voldemort lifted the curse.   
  
"Where was I, before I was so rudely interrupted?" Voldemort said in his cold voice. "Ah yes, I was going to tell you why I killed the Evans, as well as the Dursleys. As you very well know, a baby was born about sixteen years ago, and his parents gave him the name Harry Potter. Now, the Potters had long been enemies of mine, and so one night, almost fifteen years ago, I went to where the Potters were hiding, intending to kill James and Harry, but not Lily, because she was not an...shall we say...obstacle...at the moment. When I got to where they lived, I killed James immediately, and after doing so, proceeded up the stairs to darling little Potter's bedroom. His mother would not let me kill her precious child, so I disposed of her, and turned my wand onto Harry. You all very well know what happened after that. Now to the present. Little Harry, the precious boy who lived, has thwarted me so often, that I decided to give him a little surprise, and kill all of his last remaining family. So, as you know, I killed the Dursleys, and the Evans', and I have yet to get the last Evans, a boy, by the name of Mark." Voldemort finished talking, and drew a deep breath. A smile more evil than anyone could ever have imagined crept onto his face.  
  
"And now," he continued, "I must dispose of you. One by one." Voldemort waved his wand, and the ropes binding the Professors disappeared. "Get up." The Professors got up. Voldemort pointed his wand at Snape. "Any last words, betrayer?"  
  
"As a matter of fact," said Snape, "I do have some last words." He turned to McGonagall and Lupin. "Save yourselves! Apparrate back to Hogwarts!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"GO!" Snape yelled, and at the exact moment that Voldemort yelled "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall disappeared, and were on their way to Hogwarts.   
  
~*~  
  
The exact instant that Professor Lupin and Professor McGonagall left for Hogwarts, Harry Potter woke up in his dorm, hands over his scar, yelling, because his scar was on fire.  
  
"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!"  
  
"HARRY!" Ron yelled as he ran to his friend's bedside, "Harry! What's the matter?"  
  
Harry immediatley got out of his bed, the pain in his scar was decreasing rapidly.  
  
"No time to talk," he said quickly, putting on his bathrobe. "Must see Dumbldedore, immediatley!"  
  
"Harry?" Said a sleepy voice, "What's wrong? Why were you yelling?"  
  
"Can't explain now, Neville," said Harry quickly, putting on his slippers. "Go back to sleep." Harry rushed out of the 6th year boys' dorm, and ran down the stairs into the common room, with Ron following.  
  
"Harry! Harry, what's the matter?"  
  
"There's no time to explain, Ron, I already told you that!" said Harry, almost yelling. "Now GET BACK TO BED!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"FINE THEN! COME WITH ME, IF IT MAKES YOU THAT HAPPY!" Harry yelled, and turning around, he ran out of the common, with Ron following close behind.  
  
Harry and Ron ran all the way to the entrance hall, and stopped in front of the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"Great! Just Great! I've forgotten what the bloody password is!" Harry said in frustration. "Do you remember what it is?"  
  
"I think it was Canary Cream," said Ron (he had no idea why his friend was in such a panic), and as he did so, the stone gargoyle sprang to life and stepped aside.  
  
Harry and Ron rushed onto the moving staircase, and when they reached the top, Harry didn't wait to knock on the door to Dumbledore's office, but barged into the room. Harry stopped in his tracks at the sight that was in front of him. So did Ron.   
  
There was Dumbledore, sitting at his desk, his head in his hands. Professor Lupin was sitting in a chair in front of Dumbldedore's desk, his head also in his hands. Professors Snape and McGonagall weren't there.  
  
"Oh no!" Harry said under his breath. Ron glanced at Harry.  
  
Dumbledore noticed that Harry and Ron were in the office. "What are you two doing here?" He sounded tired, and stressed out.  
  
"Professor," Harry began, "I had a dream- a nightmare- about Voldemort, and when I woke up, my scar was hurting."  
  
Professor Lupin took his head out of his hands and looked at Harry.  
  
"Sit down and tell me all that you saw," said Dumbledore. He motioned towards a couple more chairs in front of his desk, and Harry and Ron sat down in them.  
  
"Well," began Harry, "it started out at Privet Drive. Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape were all there. They walked into the house where my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin lived," said Harry. He told Dumbldore about the Professors find the Dursley family dead, and how he tried to wake up but couldnÕt. Then he told Dumbldore about seeing the Professors go to the EvansÕ house, meeting up with Voldemort, and finding the Evans family dead. Harry mentioned that Voldemort used the Cruciatus Curse on Snape. "And then," Harry finished, "Professor Snape, he told Professor McGonagall and Lupin to run for it, and apparrate back here. And the very instant they did so, Voldemort yelled the Killing Curse, and I woke up, with my scar hurting." Ron was staring at Harry, white-faced and scared.  
  
"That is what happened," said Professor Lupin sadly.  
  
"Then Snape... He's...?"  
  
"Yes, Harry, I'm afraid he's dead," said Professor Lupin, his voice breaking.  
  
"But what about Professor McGonagall? Surely she should be here, shouldn't she?" As soon as Harry said it, he knew the answer to his question.  
  
"Right as we disapparrated, I cast a charm on Severus to make it so that his body would be brought with us. Unfortunatley, Minerva was hit with the Killing Curse right as we disapparrated." Harry could see tears running down Professor Lupin's face, and a couple tears on Dumbledore's face. "As soon as I got here, Professor Dumbledore cast a charm on their bodies, and sent them to St. Mungo's where they are being-"  
  
Harry didn't need for him to finish his sentence.  
  
"What about Mark?" Ron said suddenly.  
  
"Remus, could you go get him? He needs to be told this information immediatley." Dumbldore said. Professor Lupin nodded and left.  
  
"Um...Professor," said Harry, "I-"  
  
"This is not your fault, Harry," said Dumbledore.  
  
"Yes it is! It is my fault! Just like it was my fault with Sirius." Tears started coming down his face, and he put his head in his hands, and started crying, started shaking because he was crying so much. Ron put his hand on Harry's shoulder, and pulled him into the same bone-cracking hug of Mrs. Weasley.  
  
Professor Luping walked in with Mark behind him. Mark sat down at a chair, looking questioningly at Harry, and then at Dumbledore, who sighed. He told Mark about what had happened to his family. Mark burst into tears, and Professor Lupin went over to him and hugged him.  
  
After eyerything had finally settled down, Ron spoke up.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore," he said. "Where will Harry and Mark live now?"  
  
"They will live here at Hogwart's, like myself and a few of the other teachers. There are a couple of spare rooms that they will have." Dumbledore sounded tired. "Now I suggest that you all go to bed, and try to get some rest."  
  
After a fatherly hug from Professor Lupin, Harry, Ron, and Mark left Dumbedore's office, and when they got into their beds, they fell straight to sleep.  
  
~*~  
  
Please Read and Review! I'd really like to know what you think of my story! 


	6. A Talk With Lupin

O'Malley the Alley Cat, samhaincat = Thanks for your reviews!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
  
This chapter is mainly for the sake of moving the story along. But I still hope you like it, and after you're done reading, please review! I'd like to get my review count up to at least 14 before I update again. Anyway, here's the next chapter.  
  
~*~  
  
It had been about two months since that fateful night when Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall had died. Percy Weasley had then been hired as the new Potions teacher, and Tonks had been hired as the new Transfiguration teacher.   
  
The morning afterwards, Dumbledore had told the school what happened. All of the teachers, and all of the students were horrified by what Dumbledore said. The next week, at the memorial services, Professor Lupin stepped up to the podium to say a few things, but he had to stop talking in the middle of what he had been saying because he broke down in tears, and had to be led back to his seat by Professor Dumbledore.  
  
Also in the past two months there had been three quidditch games. The first one had been Gryffindor against Slytherin. Harry had caught the snitch in a record timing of two minutes. The second quidditch game had been Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw. Thirty minutes into the game, Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker and Harry's former crush, caught the snitch, which brought RavenclawÕs game points up to 210.  
  
The third quidditch game had been Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. It was about an hour and a half into the game, and both houses were at a tie of 140 points. Harry and Cho were at opposite ends of the quidditch pitch, and Harry had spotted the snitch hovering about fifty feet above Cho. He acted as though he was doing a lap around the field, just to shake off nerves, but when he got about ten feet away from Cho he shot suddenly upwards. Cho did too, but she was too late, and Harry got the snitch.  
  
~*~  
  
It was morning, the day before Christmas vacation was to start, and Harry was eating breakfast with his two best friends, Ron and Hermione.  
  
"So," Harry said to his friends as he took a bite of toast, "what should we do tomorrow once people go home?"  
  
Ron and Hermione looked at each other.   
  
"What?" said Harry.  
  
"Well, Harry," said Hermione hesitantly, "please don't be mad, but Ron and I...well, we're not going to stay at Hogwarts this year for Christmas break."  
  
Harry felt the heat rise in his face. Why weren't his two best friends staying at Hogwarts with him?  
  
"Then where are you going to go?" said Harry.  
  
"I'm going home to my parents, and Ron is going to go back to his parents."  
  
"Great," said Harry, slamming down his piece of toast, "Just great. I get to stay at Hogwarts all alone."  
  
"What about Luna? You can still hang out with her, can't you?"  
  
"She going home to her dad!"  
  
"Harry, calm down!" said Ron.  
  
"I'm perfectly calm."  
  
"No, you're not." said Ron, "I asked Dumbledore if you could come home with me, but he said that you couldn't because Hogwarts is the safest place for you, and if you go home with either of us, Voldemort is bound to come and get you." Then he stopped, his mouth open. "I...I just said You-Know-Who's name!" Ron said in disbelief.  
  
"Very good, Ron," said Hermione smiling.  
  
Harry smiled. "I guess you're right Ron," he said, "Hogwarts is the safest place for me."  
  
At that moment, Luna came over to them and sat down.  
  
"Hey Luna," said Harry, kissing her.  
  
Luna smiled. "Hi Harry. How have you been?"  
  
Hermione and Ron got up.   
  
"Harry, Ron and I have to get back to our dorms and finish packing." Hermione said.  
  
"All right," said Harry. "See you back in the common room."  
  
"Yeah, see you," Hermione said, and waved at Harry and turned around and left, with Ron following her.  
  
Harry took a bite of his scrambled eggs.   
  
"What was it you asked me?" he said to Luna, who was twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers.  
  
"What? Oh, I asked you how you've been," Luna said.  
  
"Eh, I've been good, I guess," replied Harry.  
  
"Are you sure? Sometimes I look over at you, and I see you looking sad." Luna paused, while Harry drank some of his pumpkin juice. "Is it because of what happened to, you know, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall?" she asked in a quiet, caring voice.  
  
"I guess you could say that," said Harry, also quietly, "And not only that. When Vol- when he killed them, the Dursleys, and the Evans', he killed my last remaining relatives, and when that happened...oh, I don't know..."  
  
"He didn't kill your last remaining relatives, Harry," said Luna, and when Harry looked at her, she added, "You're related to Mark, remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah," said Harry.   
  
There was another pause, and Harry opened his mouth to speak again.  
  
"Um...don't you have to go pack?" he said.  
  
"Yeah, I do," said Luna, "Thanks for reminding me. Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
After Luna left, Harry sat for a while at the Gryffindor table, thinking about what had happened over the past few months. He remembered the talk between Voldemort and Wormtail that he and Luna had overheard. Harry remembered hearing something about the secret room. What was it? If he, Harry, had found out about the secret room...well, he already had...if he, Harry found out about it, there could be disasterous consequences for Voldemort and his followers. But...what were they? Harry made a mental note about it, and got up from the table.  
  
When Harry had reached the top of the marble staircase, he suddenly decided to turn back around and go to the library, to see if he could find out anything about the secret room. He was about halfway to the library, when he heard some sniffing. It sounded as though someone was crying, and the sound was coming from the feet of a suit of armor.  
  
"Mark?" Mark looked up, and Harry could see his tear-streaked face. "Are you all right?"  
  
"No, I still miss my family." He sniffed.  
  
"I can understand that," said Harry in a comforting voice, sitting down next to Mark.  
  
"You can? Why? Do you miss the Dursleys?"  
  
Harry snorted. "Them? They were no proper family. They gave me no new clothes; everything was hand-me-downs. Every day of my life they treated me as if I was an unwanted child."  
  
Mark sniffed. "Oh," he said.  
  
"But it wasn't the Dursleys I was talking about."  
  
"Were you talking about your parents?"  
  
Harry sighed. "Even though I don't remember them, I still miss them. But it wasn't my parents that I was talking about."  
  
"Then who were you talking about?"  
  
"Sirius. He was my godfather. He was the closest thing to a father I had."  
  
"When did he-?"  
  
"Die?" Harry asked. Mark nodded. "A few months ago, in June."  
  
"Do you still miss him?"  
  
"Everyday. But I know that, no matter what, when I die, I'll get to see him again. And my parents."  
  
"Just like when I die, I'll get to see my mum and dad again."  
  
"That's right," said Harry (who had by now forgotten about the library) as he got up. "Well," he said, "Seeing as how we're the only students who are staying at Hogwarts this Christmas, we can explore the castle, and I could show you some secret passages."  
  
"All right," said Mark. "See you later, then."  
  
Harry said bye, and again went up the marble staircase. When he walked past Professor Lupin's office, he decided to visit him. Harry turned around, and walked back to Lupin's office. He saw that the door was closed, so he knocked three times.  
  
"Come in," said a hoarse voice.  
  
Harry opened the door, and walked into his dad's best friendÕs office, and sat down in front of Professor Lupin's desk.  
  
"Are you feeling all right, Harry?" Lupin asked.  
  
"Yes," Harry said. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I'm concerned," Lupin replied. "I mean, after that whole incident with Professors Snape and McGonagall, you just haven't seemed yourself, really."  
  
"Well, you know how when Sirius..." Harry shifted in his seat, "how when he fell through the veil, you remember how devestated I was?"  
  
"Yes, I remember that clearly. It took all my strength to hold you back," Lupin replied.  
  
Harry took a deep breath. "Well, when Professor McGonagall was killed, that whole thing with Sirius falling through the veil felt as though it had happened all over again. It brought back all the grief from that night."  
  
"The same goes for me, Harry. I still haven't completley got over that night either."  
  
"Oh." Harry then changed the subject, mainly because talking about Sirius still made him sad. "So," he said, "what are we doing next in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"  
  
Harry noticed the Lupin seemed glad of the change of subject.  
  
"Well, Harry," he said, "I was thinking about teaching all of you how to conjur a patronus." Lupin smiled at him. "Though I know you already know how to do one, and I know that thanks to your D.A. last year, some other students also know how to conjur patronuses."  
  
"Yeah, that was pretty fun, teaching those other students how to do the Patronus Charm," said Harry. "Of course, what with the Dementors going over to Voldemort, it's good that you are going to teach it to us now. I mean, I certainly wouldn't want my soul to get sucked out of me."  
  
"No, that would not be good," Lupin said.   
  
"When did you first learn how to do the Patronus Charm?"  
  
"It was when your dad, Sirius, and I were in our last year at Hogwarts. James wanted to learn how to do a Patronus to impress you mother, Lily. So every night we went to this teacher, and we finally mastered the Patronus Charm after two months. Sirius's Patronus was a dog. It looked exactly like his animagus form. Mine was a coyote, and James's Patronus was an eagle."  
  
"An eagle?" Harry said. "Wow. So did he ever show his Patronus to my mum?"  
  
"Eventually," Lupin replied.   
  
"So, how did he show it to her?"  
  
"Well, it was the day before Christmas, and your father, James, had just asked your mother to go out with him for the hundredth time. Your mother, like she always did before, refused. And so your father yelled out EXPECTO PATRONUM, and out flew his eagle Patronus from his wand. I have no idea how James did this next part, and I still don't know how he did it, but he somehow made his eagle Patronus write, in mid-air, right infront of Lily, the words 'I love you, Lily Evans. Please go out with me!' inside a heart."  
  
"So what did my mum do?" Harry asked excitedly.  
  
"She turned around with a beautiful smile on her face, and she walked up to your father, looked him straight in the eyes, said that she would go out with him, and then she kissed him."  
  
Harry smiled. "So that's how my mum stopped hating my dad."  
  
"Yes, that's how," said Lupin. "Though I still feel sorry for your dad because of all the teasing Sirius did for the next few weeks."  
  
"Wow," said Harry. "Thanks for telling that, Professor."  
  
"Please Harry, call me Remus, but not during class, or in front of the other Professors."  
  
"All right...Remus." Harry grinned.  
  
Lupin smiled, and looked up at the clock that was hanging on the wall above the door.  
  
"Well, it's lunchtime, and I daresay that you would like to get something to eat, and chat with your friends."  
  
"Yeah, that's true," said Harry. "Aren't you going to go down to lunch?" Harry added, getting up from his seat.  
  
"Yes, but I need to finish grading these essays. I promised the third years that I would hand them back after Christmas break."  
  
"Oh, ok. Well, bye for now." Harry left Lupin's office, and went down to lunch. Lupin followed a few minutes later.  
  
~*~  
  
I won't be updating again until I get my review count up to 14, so PLEASE Review! 


	7. Information on the Secret Room

O'Malley the Alley Cat= Yes, my last chapter was a nice lull, as you said, but things should be getting more exciting soon. :-)  
  
Ok, so I lied about not posting the next bit of my story until I got up to 14 reviews. I've decided not to set limits, because I really hate it when people do that to their stories. Anyway, hope you like this chapter. The next chapter should be more interesting.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, so stop BUGGING me about it, ok? *sniff* ...hehehe :-D  
  
~*~  
  
When Harry reached the Great Hall, he sat down at the Gryffindor table, and ate a quick lunch, which consisted of an American food that he liked very much: cheeseburgers, french fries, and soda. When he was done eating, he got up and headed towards the library. On the way there, Harry walked past Percy, who narrowed his eyes at him. Harry, however, didn't think this was very odd, because from what Ron had said a couple of weeks before, Percy still hadnÕt made contact with the family, and still thought that Harry was lying about Voldemort being back.   
  
When he reached the entrance to the library, he walked right on in, and went over to the aisle that contained books all about the history of Hogwarts, and nothing else. Harry browsed through all the books, and came to a shelf that had books devoted to the mysteries of Hogwarts.   
  
He saw a book that was titled: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Mysteries of Hogwarts. Harry took that book off the shelf. Then he saw another one that didn't have a title at all, it was quite thick, but he took it off the shelf anyway because he thought that it might come in use. There were about 25 other books on the shelf, and Harry took them all. He had to use the Levitating Charm for them because they were too heavy for him to carry all at once, and he didn't want anyone else taking one of them, for fear that they would find out what he was up to. Harry found an empty, isolated table, put the books in three piles on it, sat down, and started looking through them.  
  
The third book Harry picked up was the first one that he saw, Everything You Wanted to Know About the Mysteries of Hogwarts. He thought that he could finish it quickly, because it wasn't that thick, so he opened it up and began to read.  
  
Harry skimmed through most of the book, that is, until he came to a chapter that had the title: Secret Rooms. This is what he had been looking for, so he immediately stopped skimming and read the very short chapter carefully.  
  
'There is only one known "secret room" in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It can take you anywhere you want it to in the world, and to anyone you wish, but you must first follow the correct procedures.'  
  
Harry put the book very close to his face, and tuned out all other sounds.  
  
'The first thing you must do is to brew a special potion, called the Portkey Potion. For ingredients you will need lacewing flies, shredded lettuce, and a five drops of blood from the person who wishes to travel.'  
  
'First, add the lacewing flies, and stir over a fire for three minutes. Then, when you have done that, pour in the shredded lettuce, and leave it there for two minutes, and then stir the potion for one and a half minutes. After doing so, add the five drops of blood, and then stir for exactly twenty five and a half seconds; no more, no less. Let the potion simmer for ten minutes, then take it off of the fire, where you will need to let it cool ten minutes.'  
  
'Then, pour the potion into a glass, and go into the secret room, also called the Portkey Room. Drink the potion, think about where you want to go, and who you want to go to, and you will be immediately transported to where you want, and to who you want.'  
  
Harry immediately copied all this information on a piece of parchment. He sat in his chair for a moment, thinking about where he would get the ingredients for the potion. Then he remembered. The student store cupboard! Harry got up and ran out of the library, earing himself a disapproving shout from Madam Pince, the librarian.  
  
When Harry had reached the stairs leading down to the dungeons, he ran headlong into Percy, the Potions teacher.  
  
"Potter! Watch where you're going!" Percy said. "What are you doing?"  
  
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Harry said crossly, "I'm stand here talking to you, and, after I'm finished, I will go on my way to the student store cupboard."  
  
"What for?" said Percy.  
  
"Figure it out for yourself." Harry walked past Percy.  
  
"Wait a moment, Potter!" said Percy loudly.  
  
Harry turned around. "Yes?"  
  
"Apologize for running into me!"  
  
"Oh I'll apologize," said Harry. "I'll apologize as soon as you apologize to your family."   
  
He left Percy standing there, and went to the student store cupboard, where he got the lacewing flies, which he put into a pocket of his robes. Then he headed back up the stairs (Percy was no longer there), and towards the school kitchens, and there he found Dobby.  
  
"Harry Potter, sir!" said Dobby, running up to Harry and hugging his knees.  
  
"Hey Dobby," said Harry smiling.  
  
"Is there anything I can get for you, Mr. Potter, sir?" Dobby said in his squeaky voice.  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something you can get for me," said Harry.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I need shredded lettuce for something that I am going to make."  
  
"Right away, Mr. Harry Potter, sir!"  
  
Dobby went over to where about a dozen other house-elfs were washing lettuce. Dobby grabbed one of the heads of lettuce, and put it in a shredder. When that was done, Dobby put the shredded lettuce into a plastic bag, and handed it to Harry.  
  
"Is there anything else Dobby can get for you, Mr. Potter, sir?" Dobby said.  
  
"No, there isn't Dobby," said Harry. "But there is something that you can do for me."  
  
"What would that be, Mr. Potter, sir?"  
  
"I do not want you, or any of the other house-elfs mentioning anything about this, because it is very important that this be kept secret." Harry could tell by the look on Dobby's face that Dobby didn't understand what was so important about not mentioning a head of lettuce.  
  
"Dobby will not tell anyone about this, Mr. Harry Potter sir, and he will let the other house-elfs know."  
  
"All right, thanks Dobby," said Harry. "I need to leave now, so good bye."  
  
"Good bye, Mr. Harry Potter, sir!" said Dobby as Harry left.  
  
Harry went up to the Gryffindor common room, which was surprisingly empty. 'Weird', thought Harry. Then he remembered that everyone was probably packing.   
  
Harry noticed that it was dark. 'I must have taken longer than I thought'. He went up to the 6th year boys' dorm, where he found Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus packing.  
  
"Hey Ron." Harry said.  
  
"Oh, hey, Harry," Ron said. "Why weren't you at dinner?"  
  
"Oh, I was-" Harry didnÕt really feel like telling Ron what he had been up to. "I was taking a walk around the school grounds," he said.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"You need any help?"  
  
"Um, yeah, I'm looking for my maroon sweater, you know, the one that mum made me for Christmas last year. Do you know where it is?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so," Harry replied. "Last I saw it, Hermione was wearing it."  
  
"Could you go tell her that I'd like to have it back so that I can pack it in my trunk?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Ron smiled. "Thanks, mate."  
  
Harry hid the lacewing flies and shredded lettuce in his trunk, and went back down to the Gryffindor common. He pointed his wand at his throat, and muttered 'sonorus', just as Ludo Bagman had done at the Quidditch World Cup.  
  
"HERMIONE!" he yelled, his voice amplified, up the girls staircase. "HERMIONE!"  
  
He heard a door open, and heard someone walking towards him. It was Hermione.  
  
"What is it, Harry?" she said.  
  
Harry pointed his wand again at his throat, but this time, muttered 'quietus'.   
  
"What did you call me for?"  
  
"Ron needs his maroon sweater back," said Harry in his normal voice.  
  
"Oh, hang on a minute while I get it." Hermione disappeared for a couple of minutes, and then walked down the stairs to Harry. "Here you go, Harry," said Hermione, as she deposited Ron's sweater into Harry's arms. Then she threw her arms around him in a hug. "I hope you have a good Christmas vacation," she said. "I've got to go and finish packing, see you in three weeks!" Hermione stopped hugging Harry and went back up to her dorm, but not without a wave goodbye.  
  
Harry sighed and went back to his dorm, where he gave Ron the maroon sweater. He yawned.  
  
"Tired, Harry?" Neville said.  
  
"Very tired," said Harry. "It isn't that late, but I think i'll go to bed now."  
  
"Good night Harry," said Ron.  
  
Harry got dressed into his pyjamas, and got into his four-poster bed. "Good night, Ron," he said. "See you in three weeks."  
  
~*~  
  
PLEASE review, I'd really like some feedback, because I'd like to know what y'all think. :-) Cheers! 


	8. A Day in Hogsmeade

Thanks for your reviews, O'Malley the Alley Cat and Danny-DaWriter!  
  
Danny-DaWriter= I'm not going to do anything with Harry/Star Wars.  
  
Disclaimer: I'm very sorry, but I don't own Harry Potter. *sniff* :-D  
  
~*~  
  
When Harry woke up, he found that it was morning. Sunlight was streaming into the room, and a ray of sunshine fell right across Harry's bed, making him fell warm and confortable. Harry heard birds singing outside of the window, and got out of bed. He checked his watch, and found that it was 8:00. Shuddering at the touch of the cold floor on his feet, Harry went over to Ron's bed, intending to ask his friend whether or not he wanted to play quidditch, but when he opened the curtains to Ron's bed, he found that Ron wasn't there. Then he remembered. It was the first day of Christmas vacation, which meant that he and Mark were the only students currently at Hogwarts.  
  
Harry went over to his trunk and got dressed. Then he went over to the first year boys' dorm, where he found Mark still asleep. Harry went down to the Gryffindor common room to wait for Mark to wake up.  
  
While Harry was waiting for Mark, he started to work on his Potions homework, which was how to make a Polyjuice Potion, what the effects were of it, and the good and bad thing that someone could do while in the disguise of someone else. Harry got out some parchment, his quill, and an ink bottle, and set to work.  
  
A couple of hours later, Harry finished his Potions homework. He put that away in his dorm, and went again to check on Mark, who had just finished getting dressed when Harry arrived.  
  
"Hey cousin," said Harry grinning. "What do you want to do today?"  
  
"I dunno," Mark replied. "Do you have any ideas?"  
  
"Well, first I was thinking we could go down to the Great Hall and get breakfast, and then I was thinking we could fly around for a bit on our brooms, maybe play a little quidditch. Well, as well we can with only two people, and after that I was thinking we could get some lunch, and then maybe I could show you some of the secret passages around the school."  
  
"That sounds like fun! I can't wait to see the secret passages!" Mark said excitedly.  
  
"Also, I know a secret passage that leads to the villiage of Hogsmeade, but I don't know if we should go there, what with everything that's been going on," said Harry.  
  
"But I really want to!" said Mark. "I've heard some of the other students talking about it, and it sounds like a lot of fun!"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"Oh, all right, we'll go, but we're bringing my invisibility cloak, in case we run into any teachers."  
  
"All right."  
  
"Is there anything else you want to do after that?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"How about after we go to Hogsmeade we come back here for a little while, then we go down to dinner. After that we can come back up here and get started on some homework," said Harry.  
  
"All right," said Mark.  
  
Harry and Mark walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, all the while Harry telling Mark stories of his first year at Hogwarts. When they entered the Great Hall, Harry wasn't very surprised to find that the house tables had vanished. Instead, there was a smaller, circular table in the middle of the Great Hall, where Tonks, Lupin, Dumbledore, and Professor Trelawney sat.  
  
"Harry, Mark!" said Dumbledore as Harry and Mark came into the Great Hall, "Since we are the only ones who are staying here at Hogwarts over Christmas, I've decided that we don't need all those other tables."  
  
Harry smiled, and sat down between Mark and Professor Lupin, and Mark sat down next to Harry and Dumbledore.  
  
Food appeared on the table where they all sat, and everyone began dishing food onto their plates. Dumbledore engaged Mark into a discussion about Quidditch, and Lupin and Harry talked about what Harry's plans for the day were.  
  
"So, Harry," said Lupin as he dished some mashed potatoes onto his plate, "what are you planning to do today?"  
  
"Oh, I dunno," Harry replied. "After breakfast, Mark and I were going to play a little Quidditch, then we're going to have lunch, and after that I don't know what we're going to do."  
  
"Quidditch, hm? Well, there's only six people here, so after breakfast, why don't we play Quidditch three on three?"  
  
Harry raised his eyebrows. "What about Dumbledore?"  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"Well, he's a little..." Harry trailed off.  
  
"Don't let his age fool you, Harry," said Lupin. "So how about it?"  
  
Harry smiled. "All right. You can suggest that after we're done eating."  
  
"Will do," said Lupin.  
  
"So, Harry," said Lupin again after everyone was done eating, "you up for a little game of Quidditch?"  
  
"Sure, but it won't be much fun with just the two of us," Harry replied, looking at Mark and Dumbledore.  
  
Dumbledore seemed to have taken Harry's hint, because he said, "Why don't we all have a game of Quidditch? I haven't played it since my school days."  
  
"How about the rest of you?" Lupin said to Tonks and Professor Trelawney.  
  
"Sure, I'd love to!" said Tonks excitedly.  
  
Harry looked at Professor Trelawney. "Professor?"  
  
"Well, I suppose I should," Professor Trelawney said, not using her misty voice. "After all, it was foretold that I would play Quidditch today."  
  
"All right, then!" said Dumbledore, clapping his hands together. "Let's get going!"  
  
Harry, Mark, and the rest of the people sitting at the table all got up as the remains of breakfast disappeared from the table to the kitchen below. Dumbledore led the group, carrying a Nimbus 2000. Harry, with his Firebolt, was talking to Tonks, who had her Comet Two-Sixty over her shoulder. The rest of the group followed behind: Lupin, with his Comet Two-Seventy; Professor Trelawney, who had her Starshooter; and Mark, who had to borrow a school broom, which was surprisingly a brand new Nimbus 2001.   
  
When they all got to the Quidditch pitch, Lupin and Dumbledore went and got the case that held the Quidditch balls. Lupin and Dumbledore set it on the ground.  
  
"Ok," said Lupin, "We should split into two groups, which gives three to a team. Harry, you'll be with me and Tonks, and Mark, you'll be on a team with Professor Dumbledore and Professor Trelawney."  
  
The group of six split into two groups of three. Harry was chosen to be Seeker for his team, Tonks was chosen to be a Chaser, and Lupin decided to be the Keeper. Dumbledore was Seeker for the other team, Mark was Chaser (he had a very good aim), and Professor Trelawney was cosen to be the Keeper. They all rose in the air on their brooms, Lupin let the balls (not the Bludgers, though) out of the crate, flew up to join his team, and the game began.  
  
Harry immediatley started searching for the Snitch, mainly because he didn't know how good Dumbldedore was at Quidditch. Harry watched Tonks score a goal, and another. He saw a glint of gold, but then realized that it had been the sun reflecting off of Dumbledore's half-moon glasses. Harry watched Mark score a goal, then caught a glimpse of the Snitch, which was about twenty feet below Dumbledore. He immediatley dived, and Dumbledore, seeing what Harry was doing, dived down also to get the Snitch, but it flew away to a different position. Harry looked around for it, caught a quick glance of Lupin blocking the Quaffle that Mark had thrown, and then saw that Dumbledore had entered a steep dive.   
  
Harry's eyes followed the path of the Headmaster's dive, and saw the golden Snitch fluttering around about a foot off of the ground. He immediatley entered a steeper dive, willing his broom to go as fast as possible.   
  
Dumbledore was twenty feet from the Snitch when Harry entered his dive. Harry flew so fast past Dumbledore that he was a blur. Harry was ten feet from the ground...eight feet...six feet...four feet...two feet...Harry was a foot from the ground when he fell off of his broom, but he got up, waving the Snitch clutched triumphantly in his fist.   
  
"Well, I must say Harry," said Dumbledore, as he and everyone else dismounted their brooms, "Out of all the games of Quidditch I've ever played in my life time, you are the first person who actually beat me! That was a game very well played!"  
  
Harry smiled.  
  
"What say we celebrate?" Lupin said, "Let's all go down to Hogsmeade, and have some drinks at the Three Broomsticks!"  
  
"I'm afraid I can't," said Professor Trelawney.  
  
No one questioned her, and she walked back up to the castle.  
  
"Well," Lupin said, "How about it? Losing team has to buy the drinks."  
  
"Hey! No one said anything about that before the game!" Mark said, smiling.  
  
"Well..."  
  
"The drinks are on me!" Dumbledore said happily.  
  
"Can we hang out around Hogsmeade for a little Christmas shopping afterwards?" Harry suggested.  
  
"Good idea, Harry," said Tonks, "I haven't even gotten anything for anyone yet."  
  
"Well, then," said Dumbledore, "let's get going!"  
  
So Dumbledore, Tonks, Harry, Lupin, and Mark all went down to Hogsmeade. When they arrived in the villiage, it had started to snow, so they headed straight for the Three Broomsticks. When they got there, it was snowing even harder, so they hurried inside and got a table at the far end of the room, near the fireplace, where there was a roaring fire.  
  
They all sat down, and when the Butterbeers that Dumbledore had ordered for them arrived, the group started talking about the Christmas shopping that they planned to do.  
  
"So, Harry," said Tonks, taking a sip of her Butterbeer, "What are you planning on getting Ron and Hermione for Christmas?"  
  
"Well, I was thinking of getting Ron a new broom, and I was thinking of getting Hermione a set of books called The Complete History of the Wizarding World," Harry replied, as he too, took a swig of Butterbeer.  
  
"I bet Hermione'll love that," Tonks replied, sipping some more of her Butterbeer. "What kind of broom are you going to get Ron?"  
  
"The kind that flies," replied Harry with a smile.  
  
"I meant the kind of broom that you play Quidditch on," said Tonks.  
  
"Yeah, I knew what kind of broom you were referring to," said Harry. "I'm going to get him a Firebolt."  
  
"A Firebolt?! But those are really expensive!"  
  
"I know."  
  
"But I'm guessing that you can afford a hundred of them if you really wanted to get them."  
  
"That's true."  
  
Soon, Harry's and Tonks's conversation morphed into a conversation about Quidditch, and when everyone had finished their Butterbeers, Dumbledore spoke up.  
  
"Well, everyone, it's time we all do some Christmas shopping. We'll meet back here at 3:00, which is in four hours. Have fun!"  
  
The group dispersed, each person on their own, and the first thing that Harry did was head to a jewelry store nearby so that he could get Luna a Christmas present.  
  
Harry went to a shop called Spriggs's Jewelry Shoppe. It was small, and cases of jewelry ran all along the walls. In the middle of the shop was a desk on which a cash register stood, and behind the register sat a kindly looking old witch.  
  
"Hello, dear," said the witch in a kind voice. "My name is Elizabeth Spriggs. How can I help you?"  
  
"Um..." said Harry. "I'm looking for a diamond necklace and earrings for...someone."  
  
"Your girlfriend?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well," said Mrs. Spriggs, going over to a case near the entrance, "I have some beatiful diamond necklace and earring sets over here."  
  
Harry went over to where Mrs. Spriggs was standing, and indeed, the glass case that she was standing next to had some very beautiful diamond necklace and earring sets.   
  
Harry pondered over which one to get for Luna, and after fifteen minutes, he finally settled on a necklace with diamonds, and had a small diamond pendant on it in the shape of a moon. Each of the earrings had three diamonds connected to eachother with a small diamond moon at the end. Harry paid for the necklace and earrings, and Mrs. Spriggs put them in a black velvet box.  
  
"Would you like me to send these to your girfriend for you?" Mrs. Spriggs said.  
  
"Yes, please," said Harry. "Her name is Luna. Luna Lovegood. And my name is Harry Potter."  
  
Mrs. Spriggs didn't make any sign of recognizing him, for which he was very greatful. He thanked Mrs. Spriggs and left.  
  
Harry then headed towards a new store that had just been opened, called Quality Quidditch Supplies, where he bought a Firebolt for Ron, and had it sent to him. After buying the Firebolt for Ron, Harry left Quality Quidditch Supplies, and headed for a small book store which he knew was right next to Zonko's.  
  
Harry entered the book store, and went over to an isle that had books all about wizarding history. He picked out the set of books for Hermione, The Complete History of the Wizarding World. Then Harry noticed a section that was reserved for muggle fiction books. He looked at these for a while, a picked out a set of books for Mark. He bought them, and had the history books sent to Hermione, and Mark's set of books sent to Mark.  
  
By the time 3:00 had arrived, Harry had bought presents for everyone else on his list (Mark, a set of Lord of the Rings; Dumbledore, a pair of red and gold socks; Tonks, a book of household spells; and Lupin, a Wizard Polaroid Camera). He headed towards the Three Broomsitcks. When he had arrived there, Harry found that he was the only one there, so he went to the table where they were all supposed to meet and sat down. Soon afterwards, everyone else arrived.  
  
"Well," said Dumbledore, who had been the third to arrive after Harry, "I hope you have all had a nice time this afternoon. Now, I think it is fitting that we return back to the school. We can have an early dinner, and then you all can do whatever you want."  
  
At this, Harry remembered the Secret Room (or, the Portkey Room). He made a mental note to go and check it out after the early dinner, with, of course, his invisibility cloak.  
  
"Let's get going," said Dumbledore with a smile.  
  
The group then walked out of the Three Broomsticks, and went on their way back to Hogwarts. On the way there, Harry walked next to Tonks and Lupin, while Mark walked next to Dumbledore, talking to the Headmaster enthusiastically.  
  
"So, Harry," said Lupin, "Did you have a good time Christmas shopping?"  
  
"I sure did," said Harry happily. "I found this really nice jewelry store, called Spriggs's Jewelry Shoppe, and I bought a really nice necklace, and earrings for Luna there."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure she'll love them," said Tonks.  
  
"Yeah, I sure hope so," Harry replied.  
  
After that, there was silence, and they stayed silent for the rest of the way to Hogwarts, all the while Mark was talking to Dumbledore.  
  
They finally reached the front doors of the school, and they went into the entrance hall. Dumbledore, Harry, Mark, Lupin, and Tonks walked into the Great Hall and sat down at the small table. The House-Elfs seemed to know that Harry, Mark, and everyone else would be having an early dinny, for, right as they sat down, everyone's favorite meal appeared in front of them.  
  
"Where's Professor Trelawney?" said Harry, cutting into his chicken and broccoli crepe.  
  
"She's probably up in her tower," said Lupin. "You know how she is...doesn't like to leave it."  
  
"Yeah," laughed Harry, as he took a bite of his chicken and broccoli crepe and swallowed it. Then he caught Dumbledore's eye, and fell silent.  
  
When everyone was done eating, the leftover food vanished from the table. Late afternoon sunlight was streaming in through the windows, casting a very relaxed atmosphere over every one.  
  
"Well," said Lupin, "I should probably go back to my office. There are still some papers that need grading."  
  
"And I need to plan all my lessons for next semester," said Tonks, also getting up.  
  
"Bye," said Harry and Mark.  
  
Tonks and Lupin left the Great Hall. Then Harry, Mark, and Dumbledore got up, and Dumbledore went to his office, and Harry and Mark to the Gryffindor Common room. Mark thought he'd get started on his homework, so Harry left him to that, and went to get his invisibility cloak.  
  
He put his cloak into his bag, and went back down to the common room, and headed towards the exit.  
  
"Where are you going?" Marked asked.  
  
"Oh, um...the library. I'm going to the library to look for a book that I need for my homework," lied Harry.  
  
"Oh. See you later, then," said Mark.  
  
"Yeah, later," said Harry. He left the common room, and went down the corridor where the tapestry hid the entrance to the hidden hallway, which led to the Portkey Room.  
  
Harry pulled his invisibilty cloak out of his bag, put it on, and crept silently towards the tapestry. He lifted it, and opened the door and entered the hallway, and closed the door behind him. He didnÕt light up his wand, because he didnÕt want anyone to know he was there, if there was anyone, that is.  
  
Harry walked silently up the hall, and when he reached the door that led to the Portkey Room, he looked around to see if anyone was there. There wasn't, so Harry opened the door, and stepped in.  
  
The Portkey Room was very plain. At the wall opposite Harry, there sat a low, stone table. In the middle of the Room, there was a large circle, and inside of it, all the stone was blue. There was only a small, rectangular window, which only a little sliver of sunlight crept through. Other than this, the Room held nothing, so Harry left the way he came in, meeting no one along the way back to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
When Harry reached the entrance to the common room, he put his cloak back into his bag, and entered. He found Mark sitting in front of the fire place, working on an essay.  
  
"Hey, Mark," said Harry.  
  
"Did you find what you needed?" asked Mark.  
  
"Um, yeah," lied Harry yet again. "Listen, I'm going to run up to my dormitory for a minute, and then I'll be back, and we can do our homework together, OK?"  
  
Mark smiled. "All right."  
  
So Harry went up, put away his cloak, went back down to the common room, and started on his homework infront of a roaring fire.  
  
~*~  
  
PLEASE read &review! 


	9. Christmas

Thanks for your reviews, O'Malley the Alley Cat and dreamcatcher386!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
  
I'll admit that this chapter isn't the best that I've written so far, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. The next chapter should be better. :-)  
  
~*~  
  
A few days later, it was Christmas morning, or afternoon, rather. Harry and Mark had fallen asleep on a couple of couches in the common room the night before, so when they both woke up, they were still in their clothes from the day before. Harry yawned and stretched.  
  
"Afternoon, cousin," Harry said. "Merry Christmas!" Harry sat up.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Harry," said Mark, also sitting up.  
  
Next to the couches that Harry and Mark had slept on lay a pile of presents.  
  
"Well," said Mark, eyeing his pile of gifts, "let's get started on opening these."  
  
Harry lit a fire in the fireplace, and he and Mark began to open their presents.   
  
Harry reached for the present at the top of his pile of gifts, which was from his best friend Ron, and opened it, which revealed a box of Weasley's Wildfire Whiz bangs. Harry smiled and put these aside, and reached for the next gift, which was from his other best friend, Hermione. She had given Harry a book called Advance Defensive Spells for Young Wizards. Harry thought that it would very useful as he put it aside and reached for the next present.  
  
"Cool!" Mark suddenly exclaimed, who had just opened his present from Harry. "Thanks! IÕve always wanted to read Lord of the Rings! I've heard that they're very good! Thanks!"  
  
Harry smiled. "You're welcome."  
  
By the time that Harry and Mark were done opening their presents, Harry had opened gifts from Tonks (a book called International Quidditch Teams), Lupin (a knife that could undo any lock, and untie any knot, like the one that Sirius had given him a couple of years before), Dumbledore (a book about Occlumency), and from Mrs. Weasley, he received the usual sweater (red and gold, with a Gryffindor lion on it) and homemade sweets. He didnÕt receive anything from Luna, which he thought was a little strange, but he put it at the back of his mind.  
  
"Good presents?" Mark asked.  
  
"Yeah. My friend Ron gave me some fireworks," said Harry.  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Hey," said Harry, "Maybe tonight before we go to bed, I can set some of these off outside as a kind of fireworks display."  
  
"That'd be great!" said Mark with excitement. "Would the teachers who are left watch it?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
Harry and Mark finished talking so that they could get dressed in fresh clothes. Harry put on a pair of jeans and his new sweater, and met Mark down in the common room, who had also received a sweater from Mrs. Weasley, which was green, and some homemade sweets.  
  
"Nice sweater," said Harry to Mark.  
  
Mark smiled. "You too."  
  
Harry and Mark walked down to the Great Hall, which, despite the lack of students and most of the teachers, was decorated as always. There were twelve Christmas trees all along the walls which reached to the ceiling, and they were decorated with live fairies, pop-corn balls, little red bows that wiggled whenever they were touched, and tiny, golden hooting owls. There were boughs of holly strung throughout the Great Hall, and in the middle of the table where Lupin, Dumbledore, Tonks, and Professor Trelawney now sat, there lay a pile of the wizard-crackers.  
  
Harry and Mark walked over to the table, and took the two empty seats in between Lupin and Dumbledore (Harry was sitting next to Lupin).  
  
"Well, Harry," said Dumbledore at the same time that the food appeared on the table (roast turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, salad, and rolls with butter). "I thank you kindly for the Christmas gift you gave to me." DumbledoreÕs eyes twinkled, and he took a bite of his turkey.  
  
"What did Harry get you?" Lupin asked with interest, drinking some of his pumpkin juice.  
  
"I remember telling Harry in his first year, that I would like nothing more than a pair of socks for Christmas-" here Harry blushed "-and he very kindly remembered, and got me a pair of red and gold socks."  
  
Everyone smiled at this.  
  
"What did Harry get you, Remus?" said Professor Trelawney.  
  
"A most ingenious device. A wizard camera that produces the pictures the second you take them."  
  
"That's really neat!" said Tonks, eating about half her mashed potatoes (which wasn't much) in one bite, while Harry reddened with embarrassment even further. "He got me a book on spells to use for tidying up one's house, which, of course, I really needed, seeing as how my house is such a mess all the time."  
  
Harry, Dumbledore, and Lupin laughed loudly at this.  
  
About a half hour went by, with everyone talking, eating, and pulling a Wizard-cracker every now and then, which cause a bang ten times louder that a canon going off to sound.  
  
By the time that everyone was done eating their Christmas lunch and desert, the people at the small, round table in the middle of the Great Hall had a small pile of surprises lying in front of them from the wizard-crackers.   
  
Harry had received a miniature model of a Firebolt that really flew (he now had two of them, and he thought that he and Ron could have races with them), a few Chocolate Frogs, and a Skiving Snackbox. Mark got a few Chocolate Frogs also, and a Wizarding Chess set. Harry agreed to play chess with him, so that Mark could break in his chess pieces.  
  
Dumbledore got a tall green hat, not unlike the one the Cornelius Fudge always wore, and put it on at once. He also got some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which he promptly gave to Harry, and a pair of grey, woolen socks.  
  
From the wizard-crackers, Tonks received an auto-answer quill and some tooth flossing stringmints. Lupin got a goblet that, whenever you asked for a certain drink, appeared inside the goblet, and he also got a nose-biting teacup. Professor Trelawney didn't pull any wizard-cracker, because apparently she was afraid them. Harry wondered at this, but didn't say anything about it.   
  
"Well," said Dumbledore, getting up and gathering his new things in his arms, "Let's all go and enjoy our Christmas today.Ó  
  
Everyone else got up from their seats, and gathered up the things that they had received from the wizard-crackers.  
  
"See you all at dinner!" said Harry, as he and Mark walked out of the Great Hall.  
  
"So, Harry, when we get back to the common room, let's put this stuff away, and then we can play chess," said Mark, as he and Harry walked up the marble staircase in the entrance hall.  
  
"All right," Harry replied. "But after I put my things away, I'm going to get dressed in my pyjammas."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, it's Christmas, and, well, I want to be as comfortable as I can today."  
  
"You're not going to down to dinner like that, though, are you?" Mark said, looking at Harry.  
  
"I was thinking about it."  
  
"You're starting to remind me of Dumbledore."  
  
Harry let out a laugh, and then he smiled.  
  
Harry and Mark finally reached the entrance to the Gryffindor tower, and after they had said the new password ('socks'), the portrait of the fat lady swung open, and Harry and Mark went into the Gryffindor common room, and up the staircase into their dorms.  
  
Once Harry got to his bed, he deposited his new things from the wizard-crackers in the cabinet beside his bed. He then got his pyjammas out of his wardrobe on, took of his robes, and slipped on his pyjammas (blue and grey striped). He put his new sweater from Mrs. Weasley over his night shirt. Then Harry put on a pair of dark grey, fuzzy socks, and slipped on his new, fluffy slippers that he had gotten over the summer (they were green). Harry stretched out his arms, rejoiced at the thought that he had already finished all the homework that had been assigned to him for Christmas break, and he got his chess pieces for wizard chess and headed out of the dormitory.  
  
When Harry got to the common room, he saw that Mark had already set up the chess set, and was now sitting down on a comfortable arm chair. Harry went over to his cousin, and sat down in the arm chair opposite him, and set his chess pieces on the board.  
  
"You ready to play?" Harry said.  
  
"Sure am!" replied Mark.  
  
"Well, all right then."   
  
Harry, who had the white pieces, moved one of his pawns forward a couple of spaces, and the game began.  
  
~*~  
  
It was about a couple hours later, and the game was almost over. Harry's King was being chased around the board by Mark's Queen and Castle, and Mark's King was being pursued by Harry's Knight and Bishop.  
  
"Hey, that's not fair!" said Mark indignantly, for Harry's Knight had just come up unnoticed behind Mark's Queen and taken it down.  
  
"What's not fair?" Harry said with a smile.  
  
"Your winning."  
  
Harry suppressed a snort.  
  
"That's chess for you-"  
  
"Checkmate," said Mark with a smirk.  
  
"Wha-?" Harry's mouth dropped open. "How did you do that?"  
  
"That's chess for you, cousin," Mark said with another smirk. Harry rolled his eyes.  
  
"Well, that was a game well played," said Harry, gathering up his chess pieces. "Let's put our chess pieces away," he added. "And then we can go visit the kitchens, if you want."  
  
"But won't we ruin our dinner?"  
  
"Dinner's in a couple of hours, so I don't think we have anything to worry about," said Harry.  
  
"Oh, all right."  
  
Harry went up to his dorm and put his chess pieces away. He performed a tricky little charm that Hermione had taught him on himself that would keep him warm all day long, no matter how cold it got outside. He went down again into the common room and waited a few minutes for Mark. Mark finally came down, and he and Harry set off for the kitchens.  
  
"Aren't you cold, Harry?" said Mark, shivering.  
  
"No. Hermione taught me a charm that would keep me warm all day, despite the temperature. I'll perform the charm on you, if you want."  
  
"Thanks, that'd be great."  
  
Harry did the Warming Charm for Mark, and they reached the kitchens in no time at all, for they had raced eathother.  
  
Harry went up to the painting of the fruit, and tickled the pear. A door appeared, and Harry opened it, and he and Mark went inside the kitchen.  
  
Harry and his cousin stayed in the school Kitchens for about a half hour, chatting with Dobby and some of the other house-elfs, and all the while eating food that the house-elfs brought them.   
  
"I really like those house-elfs," said Mark, as he and Harry headed towards the Great Hall for dinner, "I want to get one for myself."  
  
"Well," said Harry, "You practicall will have one for yourself, seeing as how we"re going to be living here, because of..." Harry fell silent. He didn't really want to bring up the fateful night where all those people had died. Harry pushed the thought to the back of his mind, and he remained silent the rest of the way to the Great Hall.  
  
Harry was slient as he sat down to dinner in his usual spot next to Professor Lupin.  
  
"Nice pyjammas, Harry," said Tonks. Harry rolled his eyes.  
  
"Why so quiet, Harry?" Lupin asked.  
  
Harry sighed. "I'm still sad over what happened that night when McGonagall and Snape, well, you know..." Harry trailed off as the food appeared on the table and everyone began to eat.  
  
"I still feel sad about it to," Lupin said, as he put some mashed potatoes and gravy on Harry's plate for him. "But they would have wanted us to enjoy this."  
  
Harry smiled. "Like Sirius would have wanted us to enjoy this."  
  
Lupin smiled too. "Yes, Harry, like Sirius."  
  
Harry remained in a thoughtful silence all throughout dinner. When everyone was done eating, Dumbledore stood up.  
  
"I hope you have all had a good Christmas," he said. "And I hope that you have all gotten what you wanted."   
  
Harry instantly remembered the fireworks.  
  
"Er...Professor?" Harry said. Dumbledore looked at him. "I got some fireworks for Christmas, and I was just wondering if any of you here-" Harry looked around the table, "-if any of you here would be interested in watching a fireworks display before we all go to bed."  
  
"Are you sure you wonÕt be cold in your pyjammas?" Dumbledore asked, smiling, with a twinkle in his eye.   
  
Harry smiled. "Hermione taught me a charm that would keep me warm. no matter how cold it is."  
  
"Most ingenious," said Dumbledore. "Well, let's go outside!"  
  
Harry summoned the box of Weasley's Wizard Wildfire Whiz-bangs from his dorm, and he followed Dumbledore, Lupin, Mark, and Tonks (Professor Trelwaney had remained in her tower) outside and down to the Quidditch Pitch where he would set off the fireworks.  
  
~*~  
  
Now go to the little purple box that says 'review' and click the little purple button that says 'go'. :-) 


	10. Metamorphagus

O'Malley the Alley Cat: You go ahead and sing some wizard carols. :-) And thanks for your review!  
  
The next two chapters after this should be a bit better, but I hope that this chapter was worth the wait!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter  
  
~*~  
  
The morning after Christmas, Harry awoke in his dormitory. It was snowing, and so the room was very cold. Harry snuggled up in his sheets and remembered the dream that he had had right before he woke up. It had been about Luna, and she and Harry had been playing a game of quidditch together.  
  
Harry went over the memory again, and then got out of bed. He shuddered. It was freezing cold, so Harry quickly got dressed and headed down to the common room, and when he got there, Harry found Mark sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, which was full of a blazing fire. He was reading a book, which Harry guessed was the first of the Lord of the Rings books that he had given mark for Christmas the day before, called The Fellowship of the Ring.  
  
"That book good so far?" said Harry, making Mark jump.  
  
"Oh, Harry, you scared me," said Mark. "Yeah, this book is really good so far. Thanks a lot for getting it for me!"  
  
"No problem, cousin. What chapter are you on?"   
  
"I'm already halfway through the book."  
  
HarryÕs jaw dropped. "Halfway?! When did you start reading it?"  
  
"Last night. I stayed up all night reading it, because it's really interesting. You can read The Lord of the Rings when I'm done, if you want."  
  
"Ok, cool," said Harry. "Hey, I'm going down to breakfast. You want to come with me?"  
  
"Oh. No thanks. I can get something later, in the kitchens. I'm not even hungry right now, anyway. Thanks for asking, though," said Mark.  
  
Harry left the Gryffindor common room through the portrait hole, and walked down the familiar hallways and down the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall. He headed into the Great Hall for breakfast, and found that he was the only one there. He sat down at the circular table and at the breakfast that appeared there (scrambled eggs, toast, and porridge).  
  
Harry left the Great Hall after he was done eating. He suddenly decided that he would take a walk around the castle, though for no particular reason; he just felt like it. He headed towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor, passing many windows through which bright, winter sunlight crept through. Harry stopped at one of the larger window, and looked out of it at the grounds of Hogwarts. Snow covered everything. HagridÕs hut looked as normal as ever (except for the snow covering it), and he could see smoke coming out of the chimney. Harry decided that heÕd go and visit Hagrid later, perhaps after lunch. His eyes traveled over to the Quidditch field, which was frozen over, and then on to the lake, whose water was very cold. He caught a glimpse of the Giant Squid before it went down under the water again. Harry drew in a breath of contentment, and continued on his way.  
  
When he reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor, he heard someone speaking. It was coming from LupinÕs office. Harry moved closer to the office door, and identified the voice as LupinÕs. Then he heard a second voice, and identified it as Tonks'. Harry put his ear closer to the door, the same way he had done when he had been in the Shrieking Shack just a few months before.  
  
"When should we tell him?" Tonks was saying in a worried voice.  
  
When should they tell who about what?, Harry thought. He pressed his ear so that it was right on the door.  
  
"Not now," Lupin said in reply to Tonks. "I don't want to ruin his Christmas vacation. I'll have Dumbledore tell him when vacation is over."  
  
"Are you sure we should wait that long to tell him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Harry heard one of them get up and walk towards the door. Harry quickly gave a couple of knocks on the door to make it seem as though he had only just arrived, and not been listening in. All the while he was wondering who on earth Tonks and Lupin had been talking about. The door opened.  
  
"Oh, hello, Harry," said Tonks.  
  
"Hi, Tonks," said Harry.  
  
"Been having a good Christmas vacation so far?"  
  
"Yeah, it's been pretty good. Right now, however, I'm just talking a walk around the castle," said Harry.  
  
"Well that's good. I always find that taking a walk helps to calm me down," said Tonks.  
  
There was a slight pause, and then Harry spoke up.  
  
"Um...right before I knocked on the door, I heard you two talking about...someone. Who was it?"  
  
Harry looked over at Lupin, who looked, for a moment, troubled, but then his face relaxed, so Harry was sure that he had imagined the troubled look on his teacherÕs face.  
  
"No one," said Lupin. "It...it doesn't really matter at the present time."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Well, Harry," said Tonks. "I was just leaving to go back to my office. I need to make the lesson plans for next semester. Care to join me?" She smiled. "You can help, if you want."  
  
Harry thought for a moment. "All right," he said.  
  
"Great! Come on, then!"   
  
Tonks left the room. Harry waved good bye to Lupin, and then followed.  
  
When Harry and Tonks finally reached Tonks' office, Tonks sat down behind her desk, and took out a piece of parchment while Harry took a seat in front of the desk. Tonks got out a quill and stared at the parchment for a few seconds, and then at the pen for a few seconds. Suddenly she gave a sigh of frustration and put both the quill and parchment onto her desk.  
  
"Oh, I donÕt feel like making lesson plans right now," she said.  
  
"Then when are you going to do them?"  
  
"Later, just not now. I just don't feel like it," said Tonks. She sighed again, and then smiled. "So," she said, "You want a Butterbeer?"  
  
"Sure," Harry smiled.   
  
Tonks waved her wand, and two Butterbeers appeared on her desk: one in front of her, and the other in front of Harry.  
  
"So, Harry...there's something I've been curious about."  
  
"Really? What's that?" Harry said, taking a sip of his Butterbeer.  
  
"Well," said Tonks, "When you grew up with, well, you know...well, did anything interesting happen to yourself that seemed kind of strange?"  
  
Harry looked at Tonks and took another sip of his Butterbeer.  
  
"Not that I remember," he said, straining his memory for anything of that sort. Tonks sighed. "Well," Harry continued, "I do remember that one time I accidentally turned my teacher's wig blue, back before I had even heard of Hogwarts. And then another time, my Aunt cut my hair so short that I was almost bald, but then that night I was wishing and wishing that it would grow back, and then the next morning I found that my hair had indeed grown back- Why do you look so excited?" said Harry, catching sight of Tonks.  
  
"Oh, Harry! Things similar to that happened before I found out that I was a metamorphagus!" said Tonks excitedly.  
  
Harry was confused. "Wait- Are you saying that I'm-?"  
  
"A metamorphagus? Yes, you might be. Try to change your physical appearance first, so I can be sure."  
  
"How do I do that?"  
  
"Picture yourself how you want to look. Then put all your concentration on changing yourself to look exactly the image you have in your head of how you want to look. You'll hear a slight pop when you've done changing."  
  
Harry hesitated. "I dunno..."  
  
"Don't be afraid."  
  
Harry sighed, and thought for a moment. He'd always wanted to see what he would have looked like with red hair, so he closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could on turning his hair red. He heard a slight pop, and opened his eyes.  
  
"Did it work?" Harry asked.   
  
For response, Tonks handed Harry a mirror. Harry looked into it and gasped with surprise. His hair had changed to the exact color red that Ron's hair was.  
  
"Wow!" said Harry. He looked at Tonks, who was grinning broadly. "This is really neat!"  
  
"It looks good on you," said Tonks. "Now try something else."  
  
Harry remembered how his godfather's hair had been down to his shoulders, and Harry thought that he's like to have his hair down to his shoulders, so Harry concentrated on turning his hair back to itÕs original color, and having it go down to his shoulders. There was a slight pop, and Harry opened his eyes and looked in the mirror. He looked up at Tonks, who was smiling even more broadly.  
  
"Can I try something else?"  
  
"Go ahead, but after that I need to work on my lesson plans."  
  
"I thought that you didn't want to?"  
  
"I changed my mind. I want to hurry up and get it over with," said Tonks. "Now, you said that you wanted to change your physical appearance again...?" Tonks smiled again.  
  
"Oh- right."  
  
Harry racked his brain, and remembered how people always said that he looked exactly like his dad, and that he had his momÕs eyes. 'Well,' thought Harry, 'I might as well try.'  
  
Harry concentrated with all his might on making himself look exactly like his father had done when he was Harry's age. There was another slight pop, and Harry immediately grabbed the mirror and looked in it. Harry gasped. Staring back at him wasn't really him, but a pair of hazel eyes. Harry had changed his physical appearance to look exactly like his father had looked when he was sixteen.  
  
Tonks, who couldn't see HarryÕs face because his head was down, wondered at the reason for Harry's gasp. Harry looked up at Tonks, who's eyes widened.  
  
"Wow! I've seen pictures of your dad, but to have you here, now, looking exactly like him, it's..."  
  
"Awkward, I know."  
  
"Well, yeah!"  
  
They didn't get to say anything more, because there was a knock at the door.  
  
Tonks broke her gaze from Harry. "Come in!" she called.  
  
Harry turned around right when the door opened, and saw Lupin. Lupin's jaw dropped.  
  
"Wh- what- ?"  
  
"Sorry!" said Harry immediately, turning back around. With a slight pop, he changed back into his normal self. He turned back around and looked apprehensively at Lupin. "Sorry," said Harry again.  
  
"It's all right, Harry. It was just such a shock to see you looking exactly like you father had done when he was your age," said Lupin.  
  
To relieve the awkwardness of the situation, Tonks spoke up.  
  
"Harry's just found out that he's a metamorphagus, Remus," she said.  
  
"That's what I figured," Lupin replied. He smiled. "Well, Harry," he said, "I hope you make good use of your...talent, shall we say."  
  
Harry, relieved to see that Lupin was smiling, smiled also. "Don't worry, I will," said Harry.  
  
~*~  
  
A few days after his conversation with Tonks, it was the day before everyone was due to come back to Hogwarts, and Harry was to be found zooming around the quidditch field on his Firebolt. He had let out the Snitch, and was trying to catch it as fast as he could. Whenever he did catch it, he let go of it again, and resumed his chase after it.  
  
After Harry was done doing this, he put his broom away in his trunk, and looking at his watch, and finding that it was time for lunch, he headed towards the Great Hall. When he got there, he found that Dumbledore and Lupin were already eating lunch, so Harry went over and joined them. They stopped talking the moment they saw Harry.  
  
"Hello, Professors," said Harry. He took a hamburger bun, hamburger patty, and some ketchup, mayonnaise, and a slice of cheese, and proceeded to make himself one of his favorite foods.  
  
"Hello, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Professor Lupin here was just telling me of your newfound ability."  
  
"That I'm a metamorphagus?"  
  
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "It's quite amazing."  
  
Harry took a rather large bite of his cheeseburger, and swallowed it after having chewed it a few times. He suddenly thought that he would like his hair to be red, and for it to not stick up at the back like his hair always did. He concentrated on that image, and with a pop, his hair turned to the desired style. Harry took another bite of his cheeseburger, and looked up.   
  
"How extrodinary!" said Dumbledore.   
  
Harry smiled, and finished off his cheeseburger. He change his hair back to it's original state, and with a wave goodbye to Dumbledore and Lupin, he left the Great Hall.   
  
As soon as Harry entered the Entrance Hall, he decided that he'd go see how Dobby was doing, so he changed his direction, but he hadn't gone far when he noticed Percy come out of the dungeons. Harry thought that Percy was acting very suspicious, for he kept glancing shiftily about him. He didn't notice Harry, who was hiding in the shadows. Percy headed towards the large oak doors, and exited the Entrance Hall, and after summoning his invisibility cloak, Harry followed him.   
  
Harry exited the Entrance Hall, and not far from him, he saw Percy, who was walking very fast towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry ran to catch up with him, taking care to be quiet. When Percy reached the Forest, he took a path that Harry knew lead to Aragog's lair. Harry wondered why Percy was taking this path. Percy rounded a corner, and disappeared from sight. Harry, too, rounded the the corner, and when he had, he saw nothing of Percy. 'Weird,' thought Harry. 'I'll definitely have to keep a closer eye on him.'  
  
Harry exited the Forbidden Forest, and when he reached the Entrance Hall, he took of his invisibility cloak. Right when he did, however, he heard a voice.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Harry looked to his right, and saw Dumbledore standing there, looking grave.  
  
"Professor! You scared me!"  
  
Dumbledore didn't respond. Harry noticed the grave look on Dumbledore's face.  
  
"What's wrong, Professor?"  
  
Dumbledore hesitated. "It's best if I tell you this in my office. Come."  
  
Harry, who was very bewildered, followed Dumbledore to the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to DumbledoreÕs office. Dumbledore said the password ('Sherbert lemon'), and together he and Harry stepped onto the moving staircase.  
  
"Please Harry, take a seat," said Dumbledore once they had reached the office. Harry took a seat, and, still very confused as to what was going on, looked up at Dumbledore questioningly.  
  
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.  
  
"I am afraid that I have some bad news, Harry," said Dumbledore, sitting down in the chair behind his desk.  
  
Harry started to get worried. "What's the bad news?" he said quickly. "What's wrong? It isn't Ron or Hermione, is it? They're not...?"  
  
"They're not dead, but this isn't about them."  
  
"Then who...?"  
  
"It's about Luna, Harry," said Dumbledore. "You see, on Christmas morning, Death Eaters appeared at her house. They went for her father first, he put up a fight, and he was killed. Luna heard the racket that was being made, and she decided to see what was going on. She saw the Death Eaters, but unfortunately, right when she turned around to go for help-"  
  
"One of the Death Eaters killed her?" Harry asked in a shaky voice. He tried to keep the tears from coming.  
  
Dumbledore paused. "I am afraid so, Harry."  
  
Harry sat there, not wanting to believe what had happened. He jumped up from his chair, and bolted towards the door.  
  
"Harry!" Dumbledore called.  
  
Harry turned around, tears in his eyes. "Don't you talk to me about it. Don't say a word to me about it," said Harry, his voice shaking with sadness and anger. "First Sirius, and now her! Everyone I care about dies!" Harry yelled this last bit out, and ran from the office.   
  
He reached the Gryffindor common room, and ran past Mark, who said, "Harry?"  
  
"Don't talk to me!" Harry said loudly, crying. "Just leave me alone!" He ran up the stairs, and into his dorm, where he fell on his four-poster bed, and cried and cried until he fell asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
Please read & review! 


	11. A Fight for Revenge

dreamcatcher386= Thanks for your review  
  
O'Malley the Alley Cat= Thanks  
  
Neo Anderson= This is Agent Smith replying...no, just kidding, it's just me, supernova8610. Anyway, thanks for your review! I'm glad you like this story.  
  
As you can see, I've decided to change the title of this story from A New Beginning to A Tragic Loss, which is a better fit for this story. A New Beginning is a better fit for the sequal I'm going to do after this story is over (just one more chapter until I'm done with this story!). Anyway, on with the story...  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  
  
~*~  
  
When all the Hogwarts students came back to Hogwarts, Harry was to be found in his dormitory. He had been like that all day; lying on his bed, and crying every so often. That was how his best friend Ron found him when he came up to the dormitory that evening.  
  
Ron noted how his best friend was crying, and wondered what had happened. The last time he had seen Harry like this was a few months ago when Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape had died, and a few months before that, when Sirius had fell through the weightless veil in the Department of Mysteries.  
  
"Harry?" said Ron timidly, walking slowly towards Harry. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"  
  
Harry sat up. "What?" he asked in a tear filled voice. Ron's heart was filled with pity.  
  
"What's the matter Harry? What happened?" Ron sat down next to Harry.  
  
"Luna's dead, all right?" Harry said in a quiet, cold voice with a hint of crying.  
  
"Dead?" Ron didn't believe his ears, but then, here was his best friend right in front of him, crying.  
  
"That's right, dead," said Harry. "First my parents, then Sirius, then Professor McGonagall, and now Luna! Everyone I care about has to die!" Harry said in an anguished voice. "Who's going to be next?"  
  
"Harry..." Ron hesitated.  
  
"Where's Hermione?"  
  
"She's down in the common room. Do you want me to go get her?"  
  
Without waiting for an answer, Ron went to get Hermione. When he found her in the common room, he told her that Harry wanted to see her, and quickly he told her about Luna; immediately Hermione ran up the stairs to the sixth year boys' dorm and entered it, with Ron close behind. Hermione went over to Harry's bed and sat next to him, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.  
  
"Harry," she said quietly, "I am so sorry this happened!"  
  
Harry didn't really know what to say.  
  
"Is there anything Ron or I can do for you?" Hermione continued. Ron, too, sat down on Harry's bed. He looked at his friend.  
  
Harry didnÕt look up at them for a while, but when he did, Hermione and Ron noticed a change in his expression. It was full of anger and hatred.  
  
"I'm going to go after Voldemort and make him suffer the way I have suffer because of him," said Harry, his voice now shaking with anger.  
  
Ron was taken aback. "But you can't do that, Harry! You'll..." Ron's voice trailed away at the Harry was now looking at him.  
  
"I can go after him. I don't care whether I die or not, but I will make him suffer."  
  
"But Harry..." Hermione said. "You can't go after Voldemort! And besides," she added, "you don't even know where he is!"  
  
"I may not know where Voldemort is hiding, Hermione, but I do know how to get where he is," replied Harry.  
  
"But...how?" Ron said.  
  
"You both remember the secret room I told you about?" Ron and Hermione nodded their heads. "Well, I was looking in the library a few months ago, and found out that the secret room is actually called the Portkey Room. There's a potion you need to brew to get it to work, and I have the instructions on how to make it, and I have the ingredients under my bed; I've only just remembered." Harry's voice was growing excited. "We could go to the Portkey Room right now, and brew the potion, and we only have to think of where we want to go, and we'll go there. It only takes about a half hour to make it!"  
  
Ron looked apprehensive, and so did Hermione.  
  
"I don't know, Harry..."  
  
"Look, Ron, I don't care what happens to me, I'm going to wherever Voldemort is, and I am going to make him suffer for all he's done to me! Now I don't care whether you two come with me or not, I'm going no matter what."  
  
"You mean tonight?"  
  
"No, tomorrow night. Of course I mean tonight!" said Harry.  
  
"We're coming with you," said Ron. "Hermione and I are coming with you."  
  
"Maybe I should ask if Neville and Ginny if they want to come," said Hermione. "After all, they did come with us when we went to the Department of...well, they were there with us. And besides, it would be better if we had someone go with us, right?" Hermione looked at Harry.  
  
"I suppose you're right..."  
  
~*~  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the Portkey Room, along with Ginny and Neville, who had already been told about Luna. They were all looking at Harry.  
  
"So...what do we do?" Neville asked.  
  
Harry brought his cauldron over to the low, stone table at the wall opposite the door and set it down and got out the ingredients and instructions. Harry turned towards Hermione.  
  
"Uh...maybe you should brew it, Hermione," he said.  
  
Hermione went over to the cauldron, and began making the preparations for the potion. While she was doing this, Neville and Ginny were having a discussion with Harry, while Ron helped Hermione.  
  
"How does this whole thing work, Harry?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Well, first Hermione has to finish the Potion, and then we all have to drink it with the glasses that I put on the stone table, and then we stand in the middle of the Room where we are now, and just think about where we want to go," said Harry quickly.  
  
"Oh," said Ginny.  
  
Thirty minutes later, Hermione was done with the potion, and Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Harry each took a glass and filled it with the potion.  
  
"Before we go, I just need to say something. When we get there, Ginny, and Neville, if there's a fireplace, use the floo-powder I have here-" he gave the floo-powder to Ginny and Neville "-and go immediately to the Ministry of Magic, and alert them of what's happening, and tell them to come to our aid, because Ron, Hermione, and I will need as much help as we can get." Harry paused. "And I'll need to change my appearance..." here Harry screwed up his face in concentration, and changed his appearance so that his hair was now blonde and down to his shoulders, and his nose had become a little smaller. He noticed the stunned looks on his friends' faces, and smiled weakly.  
  
"Harry, you're a metamorphagus!" said Hermione in awe.  
  
Harry ignored this, but he smiled all the same. "Ok, Ginny and Neville, you know what to do once we get there. Hermione, Ron, we'll fight off the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Now, drink the potion-" they all did this, "and think of where Voldemort is." Harry thought of where Voldemort might be, and instantly he and the others disappeared from the Portkey Room in a whirlwind of color.  
  
~*~  
  
Ron was the first one who spoke. "Whoa! Where is this place?"  
  
Harry remembered this house from his dream few months before. "This is Mark's house," he said quietly. "There's the fireplace," he added to Ginny and Neville; they had all landed in the living room of Mark's house. "Go now to the Ministry." Ginny and Neville hesitated. Harry heard some people approaching the living room. "Go!" Harry whispered.   
  
Ginny and Neville ran quickly but quietly to the fireplace, and threw in the floo-powder. Green flames erupted, and together they got in. "Ministry of Magic!" Neville yelled, and he and Ginny were gone the instant the door opened.  
  
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" said a cold voice as the lights in the room turned on. The voice belonged to Voldemort. "Three youngsters to visit? What an honour." An evil smile appeared on Voldemort's face.  
  
Hermione trembled, and Voldemort turned to her. "Ah, Hermione Granger," he said. "The Mudblood." Harry held out a hand to stop Ron from jumping on Voldemort. Voldemort noticed this movement, and turned his eyes and evil smile on him. "Ron Weasley, what a pleasure. Lucius has told me so much about you two." Voldemort indicated one of the Death Eaters that was with him, and then looked at Harry. "And who are you?" Harry was silent, looking at his enemy with an expression of such hatred. "No answer? Well, I can't have that, now can I?" Voldemort raised his wand and yelled 'CRUCIO!'   
  
Harry hit the ground, screaming, feeling as thought thousands upon thousands of knives were stabbing him. Ron and Hermione could do nothing while they watched Voldemort torture their friend, but they too were looking at Voldemort with expressions of complete and utter hatred.   
  
Slowly, Harry's disguise fell from him as Voldemort tortured him. Finally Voldemort lifted his wand, and Harry got up slowly, trembling severely.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Potter! So nice of you to join us."   
  
Harry looked at Voldemort indifferently.  
  
"Have you possibly come to get revenge on me for killing your precious girlfriend?" Voldemort suddenly burst into a peal of laughter, so evil that it made the hairs on Harry's, Hermione's, and Ron's necks stand up.  
  
Harry was suddenly filled with more hatred, more than any any he had felt thus far for Voldemort. He got out his wand, and shouted out, 'Petrificus Totalis!' Instead of hitting Voldemort, the jinx hit the wall behind him. In his anger, Harry missed his enemy.  
  
"So you wish to fight? You wish to fight for revenge? Very well, Potter." And with these words, Voldemort shouted out 'CRUCIO!', which Harry dodged, and the battle began.  
  
There were curses flying everywhere. Ron brought down a couple death eaters by Stunning them, and Hermione brought down one by using the Stunning Charm, and brought down another Death Eater by hitting him with a curse that made him writhe and shriek, and then fall down unconcious.  
  
All the while, more Death Eaters appeared, and all the while, Harry was locked into a deadly duel with Lucius Malfoy, and finally brought him down. Voldemort had vanished, but to where Harry didn't know. More and more Death Eaters appeared, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione tried their best to defend themselves, and fight off the Death Eaters.  
  
Hermione was firing off every curse and jinx that she knew. So was Ron, and Harry also. Together the trio brought down many of the Death Eaters. 'Why isn't any help coming?' thought Harry frantically, as he battled a Death Eater. 'What's taking Ginny and Neville so long?' The Death Eater that Harry had been battling was finally brought down by a Stunner from Ron.   
  
All through the battle, Harry's scar was burning, but he had ignored it. After Ron's Stunner, Voldemort called out for his Death Eaters to get away, and suddenly, they all Disapparated, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were left alone. Everything was quiet.  
  
"Why do you think they all left?" Harry asked Hermione, the pain in his scar receding.  
  
"I- I don't know," said Hermione uncertainly. "Maybe- I don't know."  
  
Harry turned to Ron. "Ron? What do you think?"  
  
"I don't know," Ron said, "but- AARGH!"   
  
Ron had suddenly clutched his side with both his hands, and a look of such pain that Harry had never imagined crossed his friend's face.  
  
"Ron? What's wrong?" said Harry.  
  
Ron looked at Harry, and an expression of shock, horror, pain, and helplessness was on his face.  
  
"RON!!" Harry yelled.  
  
Ron dropped to his knees. Harry ran over to him.  
  
"Ron!" pleaded Harry. Ron just look at at Harry, helpless. Harry took Ron in his arms, hugged him almost and lowered him the rest of the way to the floor. "Ron!" Harry choked out. Hermione gave a sob.  
  
"Harry-" said Ron in a weak voice. "Harry...I..."  
  
"Ron! Please don't die! Please, don't die!" Harry was crying by now, and it was hard for him to speak throught the tears. "You're my...my best...friend! Please...I...I donÕt know what I'd...do...if....if you died, so please don't!Ó  
  
"Harry," Ron swallowed. It was getting hard for him to talk. "I...I'm sorry..."  
  
"No, it's all my...my fault!" Harry choked out. "It's...I..."  
  
Hermione was watching Harry and Ron, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"It's...okay, Harry." Ron gave a weak smile, and then coughed. He drew a ragged breath. He tensed up. "Harry! Please....say goodbye to my mum and dad for me...tell them that...that I love them...and Ginny too..."  
  
"Yes...I will...I'll tell them that," said Harry through his many tears that were streaming down his face.  
  
"Hermione...I....I love...you..." Ron was getting weaker now. "Please, if...if you...if you...find..." even weaker... "I...have...to...leave you...now..." even weaker... "...good...goodbye..." and with a last ragged breath, Ron lay still.  
  
"No!" Harry cried out, hugging his best friend closer to him. "NO!" Harry broke down, shaking because he was sobbing too hard. Tears were coming down his face like a flood, and he kept on crying, still holding his best friend, not wanting to believe that he was dead.  
  
It was like this when Ginna and Neville arrive with help. Mr. Weasley was with them, and so was Dumbledore, along with Tonks, and Lupin. Ginny took one look at the Scene that lay before here, and when her eyes rested on her brother, she turned around and threw her arms around Mr. Weasley as she, too, broke down crying. Mr. Weasley, shocked, stared at his son with tears in his eyes. Dumbledore looked very grave, and Lupin and Tonks were shocked.  
  
Neville looked at Hermione, Harry, and then Ron.  
  
"We were too late!" he said, alsmost to himself.  
  
Dumbledore turned to the rest of the group.  
  
"Come," he said, "we must get back to the school immediatley."  
  
Mr. Weasley turned to the Hogwarts headmaster. "What about my son?" he said.  
  
"He will be sent to St. Mungo's for the preparations."  
  
Lupin went over to Hermione. "Come on," he said to her. "We need to go."  
  
Hermione nodded, got up, and with tears still in her eyes, went over to Mr. Weasley.  
  
Lupin went over to Harry and put his hand on his shoulder. "Harry-"  
  
Harry tensed. "Leave me alone."  
  
"Harry, listen to me. We need to get back to Hogwarts. Voldemort could come back at anytime."  
  
Harry turned to look at Lupin. "What about Ron?" he said quietly.  
  
"He will be sent to St. Mungo's. Come on."  
  
Reluctantly, Harry got up and went over to where the others were standing.  
  
"I'll be back at the school in a few minutes," said Dumbledore. "Take the portkey that Professor Lupin has back to me office." He pointed his wand at Ron, muttered something, and they both disappeared.  
  
Lupin then gathered everyone around him, and held out the portkey. They all touched it, and were immediatley heading back to Hogwarts in a whirlwind of sound and color.  
  
~*~  
  
Read & Review people 


	12. Memorial Service

Thanks for your reviews Neo Anderson, Luna Potter/Took, Fire Tempest, Terence, pk from india, Jarvey, viviane, and O'Malley the Alley Cat!  
  
Neo Anderson= Yeah, I knew that you were Danny-DaWriter. And yes, I do like The Matrix, though not as much as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.  
  
To my readers who say they hate me because I killed off Ron: I'm sorry that you hate me because I killed Ron off (who happens to be my favorite character, and I really didn't didn't want to kill him off), but I did this so that the story could advance, and so that I could do a sequal to this story. Here's the summary of it:   
  
Harry is in his 7th and last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A few months after he arrives at school, Harry is accidentaly transported to another time. There, Harry finally learns what he needs in order to defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all.  
  
~*~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter   
  
~*~  
  
The next afternoon, Harry didn't say a word to anyone. He kept going over and over in his mind what had happened, not wanting to believe it was true, that his best friend was... He remembered what had happened when he had come back to Hogwarts with Ginny, Hermione, Mr. Weasley, and everyone else. He, Hermione, and Ginny had still been crying, and Mr. Weasley looked as though he was going to break down any second.  
  
When Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Mr. Weasley had reached Dumbledore's office, Dumbledore had opened the door to let all of them through. Mrs. Weasley was already there, sitting in a comfortable arm chair by the fire place. She had looked up, with tears in her eyes, and when she saw her husband, she ran over to him and threw her arms around him and started crying. This was too much for Mr. Weasley, because he too, broke down in tears.  
  
Harry then remembered Dumbledore telling them about the funeral service that was to happen this coming Saturday. Harry wasn't really looking forward to this, but then again, who was? His best friend had just died, and there wasnÕt anything that he could do about it. He didn't want to do anything. Harry had had even lost his enthusiasm for quidditch, which, he supposed, was some part to do with the grieving process, but then, he remembered, when Sirius had died, he didn't lose his enthusiasm for everything. He had gone through the grieving process, though he still did miss him, and now the loss of his best friend made everything worse.  
  
Harry was currently in Potions, and he and Hermione were working next to each other, though neither of them were saying a word. They were both afraid that if they started talking, they would start crying.  
  
Percy Weasley, didn't at all seem upset that his youngest brother was dead. On the contrary, he seemed downright gleeful, and it was this, more than anything else, that made Harry want to start beating him up with his bare fists. Hermione noticed this about Percy also, and like Harry, she was also extremely angry.  
  
When the bell rang, to signal the end of class, Harry and Hermione silently gathered up their things, and headed towards the Great Hall.  
  
While Harry was eating lunch with Hermione, and Ginny, he noticed that Mark seemed to be keeping away from him, and hanging out with the other first years. Harry was glad because of this, because he didn't want a stupid first year hanging around him, trying to make him feel better. As soon as Harry thought this, he felt ashamed, because Mark was, after all his cousin, and really the only blood relative he had. Harry also noticed that many people throughout the Great Hall seemed to be turning around a lot to look at him, Ginny, and Hermione. After this had gone on for a while, Harry slammed down his fork and knife.  
  
"I can't take this anymore," he said, "people staring at me constantly." Harry stood up. "I'll be in the library. You two want to come with me?" He said to Hermione and Ginny.  
  
"Sure, we'll come with you," said Hermione. Harry then left, and Hermione and Ginny got up, and ran to catch up with him. They were silent as they walked towards the library.  
  
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny entered the library quietly. Since it was still lunchtime, there wasnÕt anybody in the quiet library except for themselves and the librarian, Madam Pince. Ginny spotted a table that was isolated from the other tables, and so Harry led the small group over to it, and they sat down. Harry sighed and put his head in his hands.  
  
"It's all my fault." Harry said at last.  
  
"No, it's not," said Ginny, resting her hand on Harry's shoulder.   
  
"Yes, it is," Harry replied. "If I hadn't got so mad, and wanted to hurt Voldemort, as if that's possible, and gone after him like I did with you all, Ron would still be alive."  
  
"Harry, it was Ron's choice to go with you. As was mine, and Ginny's and Neville's," said Hermione.  
  
"Yeah, but they didn't die!" Harry said, and sniffed. He felt a tear on his face.  
  
Hermione hugged Harry.  
  
"I miss him, too, Harry."  
  
~*~  
  
It was Saturday morning. Harry woke up, and thought that he might ask Ron whether he wanted to play a game a quidditch with him, but when he looked over at Ron's bed, he remembered that Ron was dead, and today was the memorial service and funeral.   
  
The memorial service and funeral were to be held at the Weasley's house, The Burrow. Only a few people were coming that weren't members of the Weasley family (except Percy). Harry, of course, and Hermione were coming. Dumbledore was taking time off to come, as were Tonks, Lupin, and a few other people from the Order.  
  
Harry reluctantly got up and opened his wardrobe. He got out a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved dark green shirt, and his Hogwarts robe. He put them on, and headed down to the Gryffindor common room where he was to meet Ginny and Hermione. Together, they would go to Dumbledore's office and take a portkey to The Burrow.  
  
Harry saw that a chair in front of the fireplace was empty, so he went over to it and sat down and stared into the fire. A few people came over to Harry and said how sorry they were for what happened, and tried to comfort him, for which he was somewhat grateful. The other part of him wanted to be left alone. People obviously could tell this, for they soon ignored him, though Harry had a feeling that some of them kept staring at him, which was irritating.  
  
Finally, after ten minutes, though it seemed longer to Harry, Ginny and Hermione came down the stairs. They, too, were wearing their Hogwarts robes. They came over to Harry, who got up from the chair, and together, he, Hermione and Ginny headed towards Dumbledore's office, which, despite the distance, didn't take them very long.  
  
"All right, you three, come here," said Dumbledore, one Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had entered. Dumbledore was holding out a yellow sock, which was apparently the portkey that they would be taking to The Burrow.  
  
"What about Tonks and Lupin?" Harry asked.  
  
"They will be Apparating."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"All right," said Dumbledore, still holding the yellow sock out to the trio. "Each of you put a finger on the portkey." Harry, Hermione, and Ginny did this. "One..." said Dumbledore to himself, "two...three!"  
  
At once, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Dumbledore disappeared from the headmaster's office. A few seconds later, they appeared in the kitchen of the Weasley's house, making Bill Weasley, who had been sitting down at the table, jump.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore, Tonks and Remus have just arrived. Everyone's out in the back yard."  
  
Bill led them through the back door and out into the back yard. There weren't that many people there. Just Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Charlie, Fred and George, Ron's Grandparents, Tonks, Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and some other people that Harry didn't even know.  
  
Harry, Hermione and Ginny went over to the group, who were all standing around Ron's coffin, which was hovering over a hole that had been dug for it. Then Dumbledore began to speak.  
  
"Everyone, we are here to honour Mr. Ron Weasley-"  
  
Harry tuned Dumbledore out, for the loss of his best friend was still fresh in his mind.  
  
"Harry, is there anything you would like to say?" asked Dumbledore solemnly. Harry's mind came came to reality.  
  
"What?" sniffed Harry.  
  
"Is there anything that you would like to say about your friend?"  
  
"Only that Ron was one was my best friend. He and I used to stay up late, talking about our teachers, and other things, and we used to play Wizard's Chess all the time, and Exploding Snap," Harry took a breath, and found that he had started crying. "We used to make up predictions for Divination together...and..." Harry took a deep, steadying breath, "...I'm just really going to miss him." Harry hung his head, and let out a couple of tears.  
  
Dumbledore then started speaking again.  
  
"Oh Harry!" whispered Hermione, giving Harry a hug. Harry hugged her back. "I'm going to miss him so much!" She gave a hearty sniff. Harry hugged her closer to him, as he too, started to cry.  
  
~*~  
  
An hour later, Harry was to be found climbing the stairs of the Weasley's house towards Ron's room. He reached the landing of the floor that it was on, and Harry saw the familiar sign on it that said: 'Ronald's Room'. Harry smiled as he saw it, and opened the door. He looked around the room. He saw the walls covered with posters of the Chudley Cannons, which had been Ron's quidditch team. Harry's eyes travel around the room, finally coming to rest on the orange bedspread on RonÕs bed. Harry went over to Ron's bed, and layed down on it, with his legs dangling over the edge. He closed his eyes. Someone knocked on the door and opened it, and Harry immediatley sat up, and turned to see who it was.  
  
It was Dumbledore.  
  
"Hello, Professor," said Harry, looking at the ground.  
  
"Hello, Harry," said Dumbledore. "I was wondering if I might speak to you for a little while?" And without waiting for an answer, Dumbledore came over to Harry and sat down on RonÕs bed next to him.  
  
"What did you want to say to me?" asked Harry in a depressed voice.  
  
"It wasn't your fault."  
  
"Yes, I know," said Harry, rather rudely. "Hermione, Ginny, and I already went over this."  
  
"It wasn't your fault, Harry." Dumbledore said again.  
  
"Then who's fault was it?"  
  
"No one's."  
  
"What, are you going to tell me that this was meant to happen?" said Harry.  
  
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "You will grieve, and you'll fell better after doing so. It may take a while. But in the end, you yourself will be stronger in your fight against Voldemort because of this."  
  
"But why did it have to be this way? Why did it have to happen this way?" said Harry, looking at Dumbledore. "Why did it have to end this way?"  
  
"End?" said Dumbledore, looking at Harry. "No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, Harry. A path that we all must take during our lifetime, sometime or another."  
  
Harry sat there, taking this in.  
  
"On the other hand," said Dumbledore in a voice that was a little more cheerful, though not much. "I do have some good news for you."  
  
"What?" asked Harry curiously.  
  
"I have talked to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and they have agreed to let you live here with them."  
  
Harry was shocked. "Really?" he immediatley hugged Dumbledore. After he had done this, however, something new sprang up in his mind. "But what about Voldemort? He's after me, and, well..."  
  
"I am going to be the Secret Keeper, so no one will be able to find you here."  
  
Right at the moment, there was another knock at the door.  
  
"Come in," said Dumbledore, and Ginny and Hermione walked in. "Well," said Dumbledore, I'll leave you two here alone." And he walked out of the room and down the stairs.  
  
"Hi Ginny," said Harry. "Guess what? Dumbledore said that your parents said that I could live here."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, and Dumbledore's going to be Secret Keeper for this place, so I can stay here."  
  
"Oh, Harry! That's wonderful!" Hermione threw her arms around Harry in a hug.  
  
"It'll be nice to have one of my brother's best friends living here," said Ginny.   
  
Harry smiled.  
  
"What was Dumbledore saying to you, anyway?" said Hermione.  
  
"Well," said Harry, "he said that a person's journey doesn't end at death. He said that death is just another path that we all must take sometime or another during our lifetime."  
  
~*~  
  
The End  
  
~*~  
  
I've already posted the first chapter of the sequal for this story. The story is called A New Beginning. Here's the story ID of it: 1768566 


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